Army, families salute soldiers killed on duty

As a young boy, Teboho Radebe would normally ask his mother to buy him a toy gun to play a police officer with his friends in Paul Roux, a small town in eastern Free State.

He'd chase after his friends and shouting at them to "freeze". 

Years later, Radebe worked as a guard for a private security company in his hometown before he joined the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) with the ambitions to protect and serve his country. Unfortunately, the 30-year-old lost his life while deployed in Mozambique in 2021.  

On Monday, his mother Mmametsi Radebe was among dozens of families who laid wreaths at the De Brug Military Base outside Bloemfontein to commemorate the United Nations International Peacekeepers Day. The SANDF uses the day, May 29, to remember and appreciate the contribution of the fallen men and women in the military who died while on duty.  

Mmametsi said her son loved the force and SA so much that he was willing to put his life on the line.  

“When he was joining the SANDF he told us as a family that he was going to defend his country, so every time he was on duty, especially when deployed outside the country,  he knew that he might not come back home alive.

"Even though he informed us that he may come home in a coffin, it is still not easy for us to accept that he is no more because he was my child and a breadwinner for the family,” said Mmametsi.

"Since he left us life has never been the same; we have been struggling financially and surviving on his children’s social grants,” said the 48-year-old Mmametsi.

She said her son left three children, two daughters aged 10 and eight and a son aged four, who are staying with her.

SANDF rifleman Ben Sejake of Sebokeng in the Vaal died while deployed in Burundi in 2005. His daughter Lerato was seven at the time. Now 25, Lerato still misses her father. 

"When I see someone wearing a military uniform I always remember my dad. "It’s not easy to grow up without a father but our mother has been so strong for us,” said Lerato.

She added that his father liked football and had also played soccer for the army team.

Madikeledi Thulo from Thaba Nchu, Free State, was very emotional when she laid her husband's wreaths. Her husband, Samuel Thulo, died in 2013 in the Central African Republic where he was deployed. He left her to raise their then two-year-old child who is now 12. 

"It is still heartbreaking to attend this ceremony even after so many years since he left us. What makes it easier is to see my husband being honoured as one of SA's heroes for doing a job that he loved,” said Thulo.

Lt-Gen Rudzani Maphanywa of the SANDF said the military established the Educational Trust Account that is currently taking care of children of the fallen soldiers.

“So far we have three medical doctors and a couple of pilots who benefitted from this account. We are taking care of other children from grade R until university level.

"Anyone is welcome to make a contribution into the account, and I would like to thank soccer bosses such as Orlando Pirates chair Dr Irvin Khoza, Kaizer Chiefs chair Kaizer Motaung, CAF president Patrice Motsepe and many others who make huge contributions [to the account],” said Maphanywa.

He added that they will always honour their heroic men and women who forever stood to defend their country.

“We salute the ‘blue helmets’ who worked through the desert storms of Sudan to the tropical climate of the DRC that is characterised by heavy precipitation, high temperatures and humidity,” said Maphanywa.