Former defence minister Mosioua Lekota.
Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and other defence officials were called to answer questions on the South African National Defence Force’s actions in the Central Africa Republic (CAR) after an urgent meeting of the joint standing committee on defence was called on Thursday.
Many were hoping that the meeting would yield clear answers about what exactly happened in the conflict-ridden former French colony. Some had a more cynical view.
Defence union spokesperson Pikkie Greeff for example said he expected “absolutely no conclusive answers” from the meeting.
He wasn’t wrong.
Things got off on the wrong foot when Mapisa-Nqakula said South African troops were correct in gunning down child soldiers.
"If a child shoots at you, are you going to wave your hands, give him a sweetie, blow kisses?" she asked.
The tenor of the discussion could best be described as obstructionist and antagonistic.
MPs repeatedly called points of order – at one stage an MP called a point of order on another MP's point of order.
When former defence minister Mosioua Lekota, now a Cope MP, tried to read lines from the original memorandum of understanding signed between South Africa and the CAR, there was a lengthy discussion about whether he should be allowed to do so; whether the meeting should be adjourned so that all the MPs could be furnished with a copy of the memorandum; or whether he could merely summarise it.
A frustrated Lekota was eventually permitted to ask his question only to be berated for taking too long to get to the point.
One contentious issue that arose was the question of how long to continue the debate. One MP said he would like to wrap up early because he had a flight to catch and needed to do constituency work.
But DA defence spokesperson David Maynier said that because of the seriousness of the matter, the debate should continue until late in the afternoon if necessary. "The public are looking for answers. If we cut debate because ministers have planes to catch, we're negligent in our constitutional duty," said Maynier.
For a short while, the discussion then degenerated into a slinging match about how seriously MPs took their work, with one ANC MP implying that opposition parties were not invested in their constituency work.
The chairperson agreed to continue the debate until 3pm. A suggestion that those who needed to leave be allowed to do so, and the discussion continue in their absence was ignored.
Thereafter the points of order came thick and fast, and it appeared as though MPs were attempting to run out the clock.
There was a protracted debate after Maynier said he believed that government had lied to the public on the issue of the deployment.
MPs asked that Maynier produce evidence of this and this was followed by another lengthy discussion on whether he should be allowed to do so.
He was eventually allowed to provided his justification for the statement, quoting a letter from President Jacob Zuma to Parliament on the reasons for the deployment and its costs., and a second letter which contradicted the first.
The rest of the time – about half an hour – was spent discussing whether Maynier's statements were fair and should be allowed to stand.
Deputy Defence Minister Thabang Makwetla took exception to the statement and requested that Maynier withdraw it and apologise. Maynier refused. At this point, time ran out and the discussion was adjourned at exactly 3pm, just two hours after it had begun.
The discussion was widely disparaged on Twitter, with some characterising it as a “joke” and a “shut down of information” and complaining that ANC MPs as well as the committee chairperson were merely there to defend the minister, and not to get answers for the public.
Weeks after the deaths, questions about South Africa’s involvement in the CAR have continued to surface. Most recently, Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported that witnesses on the ground have claimed the death toll is much higher than the official number.
General Hakouma Arda, the officer who led the Seleka rebels that took Bangui, told RFI that he saw 36 dead South Africans, while another source at the French military base claimed to have seen more than 50 body bags ready to board an aircraft sent from Pretoria.