South Africa navigates a diplomatic tightrope to bring troops' remains home from eastern DRC

The remains of the 14 South African soldiers killed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), plus three Malawians and one Tanzanian, are on their way home, according to several social media sources. 

The bodies had been expected home on Wednesday, 5 February, but the M23 rebels, who are surrounding the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) bases around the DRC provincial capital of Goma and the nearby town of Sake, blocked the repatriation, Daily Maverick heard.    

It was not clear on Friday afternoon exactly how the repatriation was taking place, but it appears the remains were being removed from Goma, through Rwanda to Uganda and then to Tanzania, Malawi and South Africa.

It is understood that the SA government was firmly opposed to the remains travelling through Rwanda and particularly through the country’s capital of Kigali. Details of the route could not be confirmed. The SANDF said it would issue a statement soon.

SA’s objections to the remains being repatriated via Rwanda and, particularly Kigali, were based on a desire not to give Rwandan President Paul Kagame a propaganda opportunity to very visibly demonstrate his victory over South African and regional forces. 

Read more: Bodies of SA soldiers killed in DRC to be repatriated, Parliament told, as MPs grill SANDF and Motshekga

The Rwanda Defence Force heavily backs the M23 rebels, who killed the 18 southern African soldiers in fighting near Goma between 23 and 27 January.

Most of the SANDF soldiers, as well as the three Malawians and one Tanzanian, who died, were deployed in eastern DRC as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in DRC (SAMIDRC). Their mandate was to neutralise negative armed groups such as the M23 which have been destabilising the area for years.

Some of the SA troops were part of the UN peacekeeping force Monusco.  Both forces, numbering about 2,000 or more soldiers, remain trapped in their bases around Goma, surrounded by M23 forces while negotiations continue to secure their release. Many are believed to be injured, some quite seriously, but it seems the M23 and Rwanda have refused to free them. 

Read more: About 2,000 SA troops remain trapped in DRC with no clear rescue plan

In his State of the Nation Address on Thursday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed: “I will ensure our boys come home.”

Darren Olivier, director at the African Defence Review, posted on Friday about the speculation on social media that SA had been resisting repatriation of the soldiers via Kigali and the posts from some pro-Rwandan commentators that the M23 had treated the trapped SA forces.

“Arguably, forcing the use of Kigali as an exit is blackmail for optics, as there’s no reason Rwanda & M23 could not re-open Goma Airport & allow repatriation via that route. Holding foreign contingents hostage & giving them just enough food & water to survive is not benevolence.”

The return of the fallen soldiers is happening on the eve of a vital joint summit of the South African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC) in Dar es Salaam, convened to seek a solution to the warfare in eastern DRC.

Read more: Ramaphosa likely to attend joint SADC-EAC summit to address DRC crisis

The two main protagonists in the fighting, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Kagame, are expected to attend the summit. So are Ramaphosa, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

The prospects for success are uncertain and might hinge on whether or not Tshisekedi agrees to talk directly to M23. So far he has refused to do so, insisting that the M23 is just a proxy force for Rwanda.

Kagame counters that the M23 represents ethnic Tutsi Congolese who have their own genuine grievances that have nothing to do with Rwanda. These include complaints that they are being killed and otherwise persecuted by Hutus who fled from Rwanda to DRC after participating in the genocide against mainly Tutsis in 1994.

The SADC has supported Tshisekedi’s view that the cause of the fighting is Rwanda’s invasion of its territory and has called for Rwanda to withdraw. The EAC, however, supports Kagame’s viewpoint that Tshisekedi must negotiate with the M23.

The success or failure of the summit seems to hinge on resolving this difference. DM