Cape Town — ActionSA leader, Herman Mashaba, questioned the real reasons behind South Africa’s presence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
In an interview on SABC News’ Face the Nation, Mashaba extended his condolences to the families of the 13 soldiers who died in combat with M23 rebels and he asked why South African lives are placed at risk in a foreign country.
“Our soldiers are there with no real capacity, and also what is actually quite concerning is what South Africa is doing in the DRC. Are we there to protect self-interests, or are we serving the interests of big multinationals exploiting the country’s mineral wealth?” he asked.
He said the issue is causing a crisis and he hoped that Minister Motshekga would explain the reasons behind South Africa’s presence in the DRC. He said South Africa should withdraw immediately.
“Unless there’s a compelling reason that we are don;t know, with the little that we know, we should withdraw from the DRC and the lives of the South Africans lost, if we were a serious government, we would retaliate against anyone responsible for killing our soldiers. We cannot be a government that can sit back and allow someone to kill our soldiers. An attack on our soldiers is an attack on our citizens,” he said.
WATCH BELOW:
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: X/@__Tshireletso_
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Matthew Petersen
