ActionSA Requests Urgent Joint Defence Committee Probe into the SANDF’s Defiance of the President’s Orders
Lerato Ngobeni MP
ActionSA Parliamentary Chief Whip
ActionSA has written to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence requesting an urgent probe into troubling developments surrounding the reported defiance of the President’s lawful instructions by senior SANDF officials during the recent joint naval drills conducted in Simon’s Town last week.
With reports indicating a coordinated and deliberate failure to comply with a direct command issued by the President in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief, ActionSA believes that Parliament cannot sit on its hands and must demand answers, as such conduct represents perhaps the most serious breach of the constitutional chain of command and places South Africa in a precarious position, both geopolitically and in terms of domestic national security.
Importantly, ActionSA flatly rejects the Board of Inquiry established by Defence Minister Angie Motshekga and cannot reconcile the apparent endorsement of this farcical process by the President.
ActionSA believes that a genuinely independent process led by Parliament, as a constitutionally empowered body, is far better placed to get to the truth of what has unfolded and to ensure that those responsible are held publicly accountable in this crisis.
ActionSA believes that while building a capable and battle-ready defence force is incredibly important, this must first and foremost be grounded in a disciplined respect for the rule of law and the constitutional chain of command, upheld at every level, from senior military leadership to the executive.
ActionSA Requests Urgent Joint Defence Committee Probe into the SANDF’s Defiance of the President’s Orders
ActionSA has written to the Joint Standing Committee on Defence requesting an urgent probe into troubling developments surrounding the reported defiance of the President’s lawful instructions by senior SANDF officials during the recent joint naval drills conducted in Simon’s Town last week.
With reports indicating a coordinated and deliberate failure to comply with a direct command issued by the President in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief, ActionSA believes that Parliament cannot sit on its hands and must demand answers, as such conduct represents perhaps the most serious breach of the constitutional chain of command and places South Africa in a precarious position, both geopolitically and in terms of domestic national security.
Importantly, ActionSA flatly rejects the Board of Inquiry established by Defence Minister Angie Motshekga and cannot reconcile the apparent endorsement of this farcical process by the President.
ActionSA believes that a genuinely independent process led by Parliament, as a constitutionally empowered body, is far better placed to get to the truth of what has unfolded and to ensure that those responsible are held publicly accountable in this crisis.
ActionSA believes that while building a capable and battle-ready defence force is incredibly important, this must first and foremost be grounded in a disciplined respect for the rule of law and the constitutional chain of command, upheld at every level, from senior military leadership to the executive.