Controversial Video Footage of Soldiers Burning Bodies Leads to Investigation

Video footage of troops throwing the bodies of two dead people onto a pile of burning debris has led to the opening of an investigation by the Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM). The incident is alleged to have taken place near Nkonga Village, located in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique on November 29, 2022. While the armed forces in the video footage are not immediately identifiable as to what nation or unit they represent, it is likely they are SAMIM soldiers. Visible in the video footage is a soldier with the South African flag on his uniform. While he does not actively participate in the burning of the corpses, he is standing there and filming the incident. The soldier is likely a member of South Africa’s National Defence Force (SANDF). 

Condemnation of Video Footage  

The incident shown in the video footage has been condemned and has led to calls for the SANDF to carry out its own investigation. According to Darren Olivier, the director of African Defence Review, South Africa’s Law of Armed Conflict Manual of 1996 and its Revised Civic Education Manual of 2004 says the maltreatment of dead bodies is a violation of the law of armed conflict. Oliver also said there is a possibility it is a war crime. It would also be a violation of the Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. An article of the Geneva Convention states that the dead should be “honorably interred.” 

South African political parties, such as the Economic Freedom Fighters and the Democratic Alliance, have called for action to be taken against all SANDF members involved in the incident. The EFF called on the commander of the SANDF battalion in Mozambique to be held responsible. The DA claimed that even though members of the SANDF were operating under the control and command of SAMIM, they remained members of South Africa’s defense force as deployed by President Cyril Ramaphosa 

SANDF Response to Video Footage 

The SANDF has been forced to address the matter seeing as one of their soldiers is in the video footage. SANDF spokesperson Brigadier General Andries Mokoena Mahapa addressed the matter in a statement on Tuesday, January 10th. Mahapa said while the SANDF condemned the incident and called for those implicated to be investigated and punished for their deeds, they would not be investigating the matter. Mahapa claims the reason for this is the fact that the incident did not occur under the SANDF’s command. “Once the forces are committed, they form part of a combined force and fall under the command and control of SAMIM. South Africa only supports their mission logistically,” Mahapa said. 

SAMIM and Rwandan forces have been in Mozambique to militarily assist the Southern African country since July 2021 after one of its provinces was infiltrated by jihadi forces of Ahlu-Sunnah Wal-Jamaiah (ASWJ). The violence stemming from ASWJ’s arrival has led to 4,500 deaths and caused the displacement of over 1 million people. While attacks and violence from the ASWJ continue in the present, the Mozambican government has managed to regain control of the territory that the insurgents had claimed.