Theft and the illegal sale of military equipment are rife at Five SA Infantry battalion in Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal, Beeld reported on Monday.
It said bullet-proof jackets from a military supply store have been sold for R500 each — apparently for use in cash-in-transit heists.
”Sports equipment” was apparently sold to a bogus undertaking, which had an address in a military block of flats where no deliveries were ever made.
Soldiers and even senior officers of the battalion were said to be involved in various cases of fraud and theft of military equipment.
But only six soldiers in the national defence force have been charged with fraud in the past three years.
The names of the six have been disclosed by Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota in response to a written question by Democratic Alliance member of Parliament Roy Jankielsohn.
Two were found guilty, three still were still being investigated and one case was thrown out of court.
A report by the inspector-general of the army earlier this year said: ”There have been no arrests, even although the guilty parties are known to all. This is making Five SAI [Ladysmith] ungovernable.”
In one case of abuse of state property for personal gain, 260 litres of diesel was tapped from the unit’s Casspirs and other vehicles, in full view of workers at the battalion.
The problems were uncovered by Beeld because some of the suspects were conducting a reign of terror among the rest of SAI’s troops.
The troops felt powerless to do anything because the perpetrators boasted that they had ”top cover” for their activities. – Sapa