--- title: "After mortar fire tragedy, two SANDF soldiers deployed in DRC die in apparent murder-suicide" description: "Just two weeks after two South African soldiers were killed by mortar fire in the Democratic Republic of Congo, two more SA soldiers died in an apparent murder-suicide in the central African nation." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "CONGO MISSION" author: "Ethan van Diemen" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/ethan-van-diemen/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-03-03-after-mortar-fire-tragedy-two-sandf-soldiers-deployed-in-drc-die-in-apparent-murder-suicide/" published: "2024-03-03T20:09:25" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 718 --- # After mortar fire tragedy, two SANDF soldiers deployed in DRC die in apparent murder-suicide > Just two weeks after two South African soldiers were killed by mortar fire in the Democratic Republic of Congo, two more SA soldiers died in an apparent murder-suicide in the central African nation. By Ethan van Diemen · Published 3 March 2024, 22:09 SAST ## Key points - In a tragic turn of events, two SANDF members deployed in the DRC met a devastating end in a murder-suicide, prompting questions about mental health resources for soldiers in active conflict zones, as the SANDF and Monusco launch an inquiry to unravel the circumstances behind the incident. - Two SANDF members in the DRC die in murder-suicide. Defence Minister Thandi Modise expressed her shock. - SANDF declines to discuss mental health resources for soldiers, citing ongoing inquiry. - Suicide a common issue in global defence forces, including SANDF. - Two SANDF soldiers killed in DRC mortar explosion, laid to rest after recent deployment. ## Content In a statement released on Friday, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said that two of its members deployed in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Monusco) had died in a murder-suicide. “The incident occurred when one of them shot and killed the other with their service weapon before turning the weapon on themselves with fatal consequences,” it said. The statement said the minister of defence and military veterans, Thandi Modise, “expressed her shock” at the incident. Speaking to *Daily Maverick* over the phone, the head of communications at the SANDF, Siphiwe Dlamini, would not share any information about the mental health resources available to SANDF members in general or to soldiers deployed in active conflict zones such as the one in the DRC. Instead, he directed *Daily Maverick* to the statement released on Friday, adding that the SANDF had convened a board of inquiry to work with Monusco to “investigate the incident and the circumstances that led to it”. “We will wait for the outcome of the board of inquiry of the SANDF in conjunction with … Monusco, which will look at circumstances surrounding the incident,” he said. *Daily Maverick* asked the South African Military Health Service (SAMHS) and the Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans about mental health and trauma care they offered for soldiers, but had received no response by the time of publication. #### **United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in DRC:** [Media on Daily Maverick](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-03-03-after-mortar-fire-tragedy-two-sandf-soldiers-deployed-in-drc-die-in-apparent-murder-suicide/) According to an [article](https://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/987) in the *South African Journal of Military Studies*, “suicide is accepted as a common phenomenon in defence forces (also in the SANDF) around the world”. In a [reply to a question](https://pmg.org.za/committee-question/12879/) in Parliament in 2019, the then minister of defence and military veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, said, “Given the complexity of the development and later manifestation of \[mental health\] disorders, it is not possible to quantify the numbers that are involved without deep analysis of patient history per incident. “The suicide incidence is a problematic aspect. Suicides are classed as unnatural deaths and therefore revert to the state coroner for final classification. The cause of death coding is vague, with most capturing indicated as ‘death unspecified’. “All members have access to the full spectrum of clinicians in managing mental disorders. The SAMHS does have management and defusing programmes in place to render care after traumatic incidents and after every deployment.” **DRC missions** On 14 February, two SANDF soldiers were killed in the DRC. [Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSANationalDefenceForce%2Fposts%2Fpfbid036Yq3a5DwwvfqnEZtHNa7cVuXw3wguNVCf1AZYmJrFyS9ZyR72Gs2iT5pM6R8kp1fl&show_text=true&width=500) Captain Simon Mkhulu Bobe and Lance-Corporal Irven Thabang Semono were killed and three others were injured when a mortar shell exploded inside their military base in eastern DRC. ![Members of the South African National Defence Force carry a flag-draped coffin during the funeral ceremony for Captain Simon Mkhulu Bone and Lance Corporal Irven Thabang Semono at the Waterkloof Air Force Base on 21 February 2024. The soldiers were killed in a mortar strike that landed near a SANDF base in Sake, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on 14 February 2024, marking the first fatalities for South Africa since it began deploying 2,900 soldiers in the east of the country in mid-December. (Photo: Marco Longari / AFP)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/HopiGvCF84UkR_WA6T9RxJge8gk=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/AFP__20240221__34JV69M__v7__HighRes__SafricaDrcongoDefenceSandfUnrestFuneral.jpg) *South African National Defence Force members carry a flag-draped coffin during the funeral ceremony for Captain Simon Mkhulu Bone and Lance Corporal Irven Thabang Semono at the Waterkloof Air Force Base. The soldiers were killed in a mortar strike that landed near an SANDF base in Sake, Democratic Republic of Congo, on 14 February 2024, marking the first fatalities for South Africa since it began deploying 2,900 soldiers in the east of the country in mid-December. (Photo: Marco Longari / AFP)* **Read more in Daily Maverick:**[Two SANDF troops killed, three injured in mortar explosion in eastern DRC](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-02-15-two-sandf-troops-killed-three-hurt-in-drc-mortar-explosion/) They were buried on 2 March. The SANDF reported that Bobe joined the military in 2011 and Semono in 2006. > READ || The funeral services of fallen members of the South African National Defence Force commence today at Kimberley and Thaba Tshwane in Pretoria.[https://t.co/lhzha2fjjU](https://t.co/lhzha2fjjU)[#SANDF](https://twitter.com/hashtag/SANDF?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)[#SASoldierMagazine](https://twitter.com/hashtag/SASoldierMagazine?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)[#JointOperationsDivision](https://twitter.com/hashtag/JointOperationsDivision?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)[#SAArmy](https://twitter.com/hashtag/SAArmy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)[#PrideOfLions](https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrideOfLions?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)[#RIPSASoldiers](https://twitter.com/hashtag/RIPSASoldiers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)[pic.twitter.com/aqGz2HTnV1](https://t.co/aqGz2HTnV1) > > — SA National Defence Force (@SANDF\_ZA) [March 2, 2024](https://twitter.com/SANDF_ZA/status/1763908604510269911?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) They had only recently been deployed in the DRC as part of a force aiming to neutralise armed groups, particularly the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. A [statement](https://www.sadc.int/latest-news/deployment-sadc-mission-democratic-republic-congo) released by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) explained that the SADC Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo was “deployed on 15 December 2023 to support the government of the DRC to restore peace and security in the eastern DRC, which has witnessed an increase in conflicts and instability caused by the resurgence of armed groups”. As part of that mission, which is expected to cost South Africa R2.3-billion, South Africa authorised the deployment of some 2,900 troops.**DM**