Army Chief’s ‘soldiers not activists’ stance welcomed

With at least 35 coup attempts and constitutional crises in Africa since 2010, new South African National Defence Force (SANDF) chief General Solly Shoke has slammed a meeting proposed by retired Lieutenant-General Maomela “Mojo” Motau with senior SANDF officers to “discuss the state of the ANC”.

Shoke’s stance has been welcomed by experts.

What Motau envisaged would happen after the meeting, hopefully merely a strongly worded letter, was unknown, but the idea of the top officers of the SANDF coming together to discuss political issues was worrying to many.

Both experts who spoke to The Citizen said it was usually uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) members who were initially highly politicised in the early part of democracy, but the current crop of soldiers in the SANDF were not interested in politics and wanted to be professional soldiers. They said it was not a tradition of the force to participate in party politics.

Motau, who was awarded the Order of Luthuli by President Cyril Ramaphosa, is a skilled negotiator who participated in the creation of the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee and the
National Security Council.

Dr Jakkie Cilliers, head of African Futures and Innovation at Institute for Security Studies, said even under apartheid, soldiers did not participate in party politics although some senior officers might have been used to participate in the covert activities of the white regime.

“Not that I know of, but there were certain elements that were clearly involved in some kinds of killings and rogue activities, but they were never overtly involved in party politics of the National
Party,” Cilliers said.

“What General Shoke did is very welcomed. It is important to separate the state from the ANC, it sends an important signal.”

Independent defence analyst Helmoed Romer-Heitman said it was critical SANDF members had no political links because they represented the nation, regardless of people’s political, cultural
or racial divide.

“In the military, you are only a soldier and any attempt by politicians or political parties to politicise the defence force is a no-no. General Shoke was right to step in very quickly and firmly,” Romer-Heitman said.

Shoke this week warned the members not to entangle themselves in ANC politics and cautioned them about consequences if they attended the meeting.

“When you are a soldier, you are not an activist but a soldier who must defend the sovereignty of the nation. The military must be kept out of politics. I know General Shoke for many years, he is a
true soldier,” he said.

“As a soldier, you may vote for a political party but you cannot involve yourself in politics.”

Cilliers said under former president Jacob Zuma, some former  non-statutory defence members were politicised again, especially the intelligence members.

“The security establishment was close to Zuma, especially the intelligence guys. There were blurred lines,” Cilliers said.

The MK National Council acting secretary-general, Gregory Nthatisi commended Shoke’s stance.

“The statement made by General Shoke is in keeping with the constitution of this country. No one, not even the ANC, must bank on the support of the army for its political objectives. The army
served the people of this country, not the ANC and it is subjected to the constitution,” said Nthatisi.

He added the ANC government ran the constitution on behalf of all citizens, not only the ANC members.

“None must expect the army to serve the interests of an individual or a political party,” he said.

– ericn@citizen.co.za

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