Eight SANDF soldiers who were deployed in Beni in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were accused of sexual exploitation and abuse.
EIGHT soldiers in the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) have been accused of misconduct in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
According to the SANDF, the soldiers were deployed under the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).
“It is alleged in the UN report that on October 1 the eight SANDF soldiers deployed in Beni were apprehended by the United Nations Military Police (UN MP) for being in direct breach of the curfew time and other regulations related to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA),” said SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini.
He said the SANDF was made aware of the allegations in the media, an incident he described as “unfortunate”.
“The reporting procedure was not followed by the United Nations because the RSA Defence Adviser nor the RSA United Nations Representative were not informed as per the Standard Operating Procedure for all TCC’s.”
Dlamini said due to the serious nature of the allegations, the SANDF took a decision to recall the implicated soldiers back to South Africa to answer to the allegations and to give account of events that transpired in Beni.
He said a formal investigation was under way.
