Defence Minister Charles Nqakula has extended his sympathies to the family of a South African soldier who was shot and killed in Sudan’s Darfur region earlier this week.
In statement on Friday, the Ministry of Defence said South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Corporal Benjamin Titus (34) was killed on duty at about 6pm on Wednesday.
The shooting took place at a water point about 3km from the Kutum base in Sudan. Titus was shot and killed and another male soldier was shot and injured after two unknown men approached the unit.
Titus died on the scene and the other soldier was taken to the United Nations hospital at El Fasher in a serious but stable condition. The ministry would not release his name.
”The chief of the SANDF, General Godfrey Ngwenya, has ordered that a board of inquiry be convened to investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident,” the statement read.
Nqakula, on behalf of the Department of Defence, and Ngwenya extended their deepest sympathies and condolences to the family of Titus. Titus leaves behind his wife Belinda.
He was based at 10 SA infantry battalion in Mafikeng and was deployed to Sudan as a member of the United Nations/African Union mission in Darfur. — Sapa