Corporal Simanga Arthur Khuselo
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) concluded their investigation into the death of Corporal Simanga Arthur Khuselo, who was killed in friendly fire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on 3 June 2021.
“The board of inquiry has been completed, and has been handed over to the general officer commanding joint operations headquarters,” confirmed Colonel Louis Kirstein, the acting director of defence’s corporate communications.
After studying the findings and recommendations, the report will be handed over to “the legal division to determine the recommendations made” in the report, Kirstein said in late December 2021.
After almost a year of not knowing the exact events that led to Khuselo’s death, the family is still struggling to come to terms with it.
Khuselo’s wife, California, says her youngest daughter still asks when her father will be back from work. She admits the loss of her husband has taken an emotional toll as she struggles to sleep. She has lost a considerable amount of weight and has battled debilitating depression.
California is hesitant when she says: “I guess it is just a phase of life that I need to pass. Life will get better as time goes on, I think.”
The Mail & Guardian reported in September 2021 that Khuselo died before a military operation in the village of Kilia, near the city of Beni in North Kivu province.
The SANDF and the Tanzania People’s Defence Force — one of whose soldiers shot Khuselo — are part of the Force Intervention Brigade in the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC.
Mangaliso Jephry Khuselo, the brother of the slain soldier, previously claimed the incident was not an accident. He said the family has enough reason to believe there was noticeable discord between Khuselo and the man who shot him.
Mangaliso said the Tanzanian soldier, whose name is known to the M&G, did not complete his tasks or work as part of the team Khuselo headed. He claims that Khuselo and the Tanzanian soldier had a dispute three days before his death.
Following the incident, both the SANDF and the UN confirmed to the M&G that each will investigate the circumstances around Khuselo’s untimely death.
On Tuesday 4 January, Mangaliso received confirmation that their family would be briefed by the SANDF on the outcome of the investigation. The briefing is expected to take place on Friday 14 January in Potchefstroom.
While the SANDF has completed their probe, clarity on the outcome of the UN’s investigation remains vague without the UN elaborating on the matter.
In September 2021, a UN spokesperson in the DRC, Mathias Gillmann, said the mission’s investigation was ongoing “so we would not be able to share any details at this stage”. Gillman also noted he was unaware of an investigation by the SANDF and that the peacekeeping force conducted an investigation into any fatality during a mission.
Towards the end of last year, Khuselo’s family was informed that the UN paid the SANDF an amount of nearly R1.2-million that is meant to be paid out to Khuselo’s family.
However, the UN did not elaborate on the amount or outcome of their probe into the late corporal’s death.
“We have no further information to share at this stage,” Gillman said in response to an inquiry, referring the M&G to the SANDF.
In a follow-up inquiry to the SANDF, spokesperson Colonel Ronald Maseko reconfirmed that its board of inquiry is separate from the UN’s investigation.
But Mangaliso hopes that the briefing on the outcome of the SANDF’s investigation will bring closure.
“It’s been a long time,” Mangaliso said.
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