SANDF

The crisis in Pretoria on 26 August was a double mutiny by soldiers against the state’s authority. It did not only ignore a court order prohibiting the protest. It also constituted an unauthorized occupation of the main seat of the executive.

During the court hearing before the planned protest, the acting chief of the South African Defence Forces, Lt. Gen. Themba Matanzima, had outlined an alleged plot by disgruntled soldiers to kidnap the defence minister and top military officials. South Africa is in "treacherous times," he was quoted as saying in the affidavit.

South Africa has not been plagued by the army insurrections and coups that other African countries have suffered. But the South African military has been troubled by ample problems related to incompetence and ill-discipline.

Recruitment, appointments and promotions have been based too much on the ANC ideology of transformation and too little on standards and merit. The defence budget, about 1.6% of the national budget, remained much too small to perform all the tasks set by the government.

Some soldiers have to live on the equivalent of about 400 Euro per month. In contrast, some of the rebellious soldiers believe that senior officers and cabinet ministers use their positions merely for self-aggrandizement and self-enrichment.

No firm evidence has been provided. But is it a coincidence that the first defence minister was the former gangster Joe Modise? Is it a coincidence that the first major corruption scandal to hit the ANC involved a major arms transaction. R. W. ('Bill') Johnson's South Africa's Brave New World - The Beloved Country since the End of Apartheid provide some of the juicier and under-reported facts about this dimension.

In time, more evidence may emerge. However, in this case, tensions over pay and the unions had been boiling for some time. The soldiers indicated through their trade unions that they were unhappy, but the government refused to listen. By August, some soldiers had had enough and took to the streets.

The bush guerilla ethos introduced by the MK cadres, many of them senior officers today, has partly contributed to the current state of ill-discipline in parts of the security forces. In addition, the armed forces are not insulated from the rest of society.

Several forces tolerated by the ANC in the broader public domain have probably been weakening the cohesion and professionalism of the armed forces over years: nepotism and personal networks, ethnic and racial favouritism, shady economic interests and deals, and the disregard of bureaucratic best practices.

There are still many pockets of competence left in the SANDF, noticeably among former SADF officers and NCOs, but also among some of the younger new officers. However, ill-discipline and factionalism among men with guns constitute a huge risk to the authorities. Already during the succession struggle in 2008, then-president Thabo Mbeki cautioned the armed forces to remain neutral. As general Matanzima indicated, SA is facing “treacherous times”.

The intelligence services will play a key role in the protection of the government from further mutinies. The Zuma government has also virtually completed its “cleansing” of the intelligence services into a politically more reliable instrument. 

The contract of National Intelligence Agency Director-General Manala Manzini, who recently confessed to beating his wife because she would not cook for him or iron his clothes, is not being renewed. Loyiso Jaftha, the head of the National Communications Centre, the country's eavesdropper, has left his position. Zolile Ngcakani, the inspector-general of intelligence, is also to be replaced in a few months.

However, the factionalism of the security forces is likely to continue. The involvement of the security forces in the economy, also in the form of links between senior officers and officials and private companies, will also reinforce their increased vulnerability to nepotism and corruption.

Tensions and factionalism, plots and rumours of threats will continue to permeate parts of the armed forces in future. They will be related to a fight over spoils, over jobs, promotions and access to resources.

Will the infighting sometimes take the form of armed mutinies that can be contained?  The next two decades will tell. Let’s hope that general Matanzima’s “treacherous times” do not return in the form of an attempted coup.