Over the telephone Zenzele Sishi, vice-ÂÂpresident of the South African Unintegrated Forces (SAUIF), sounds like a cross between Joseph Conrad’s Colonel Kurtz and a child soldier on amphetamines.
His speech is erratic and he seems delusional at times, his story constantly changing. Sishi (27) claims he is leading 3 000 paramilitaries, most of whom are former members of the Self Protection Unit (SPU) — ostensibly the armed wing of Inkatha during the internecine violence in KwaZulu-Natal in the 1990s — into training in the bush near the Swaziland and Mozambique borders with KwaZulu-Natal until the government hears them out.
Of these soldiers, 372 were arrested at Emanguzi near the Mozambique border last Friday under the Public Gatherings Act. They have been released on bail amounting to R74 400.
Sishi told the Mail & Guardian that until the government and the defence ministry take notice and integrate his ”soldiers” into the South African National Defence Force, they will ”sit in the bush and wait until government complies with the issue. Only God knows what will happen next if we don’t hear from government.”
Defence ministry spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi said that while the department was monitoring the ÂÂsituation, it was a ”civilian matter” and there was ”no marriage between the people concerned and the department of defence”.
He added that the integration of the national defence force ended with the 2001 Termination of Integration Intake Bill. The process was aimed at integrating the armed wings of various political structures.
The actions of the SAUIF over the past week have highlighted the plight of the SPU members, who were not absorbed into the defence force during the integration process.
The SPU — estimated at 11 000 soldiers at the time of integration — was essentially disowned by the IFP, which claimed it was run by the then-KwaZulu government, and not the party. A defence force source said that one of the criteria for the integration of the various armed wings was the provision of a Certified Personnel Register by each party and that, at the time, the IFP did not provide one. As a result, the SPU was not integrated.
This week, IFP secretary general Musa Zondi said: ”The IFP distances itÂÂself from the alleged actions of former SPU members, which was mobilised by the erstwhile KwaZulu government.”
IFP national organiser and parliamentarian Albert Mncwango blamed Mosiua Lekota for failing to integrate the SPU. He claimed that in his capacity as an MP sitting on the portfolio committee on defence he had reached a verbal agreement with then-ÂÂminister of defence Joe Modise to integrate the 11 000 SPU members.
”The first lot of 3 000 were taken in in 1996, and the rest were to follow … the wheels came off when the minister passed away. Lekota had a different view and felt that the SPU members should go through the normal process of people wanting to enter the defence force … from what I gather from these people, the minister closed the door … and this caused their frustration.”