President Cyril Ramaphosa has been accused of deploying the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to protect his business interests and those close to him. File Picture: Kim Ludbrook / Independent Newspapers
The deaths of 14 members of the South Africa National Defence Force (SANDF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has sparked fierce debate about the reason behind the soldiers’ deployment to the country.
This follows multiple allegations that the SANDF was not on a peacekeeping mission mandated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) but was instead in the region to protect business interests.
Included in the allegations are claims that President Cyril Ramaphosa has business interests in the DRC and there are suggestions that the defence force had been deployed to protect the interests of politicians and those close to him.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s spokesperson Yolande Makolo on Tuesday called on Ramaphosa to come clean about his personal interests in mining in the DRC. Makolo challenged Ramaphosa to tell South Africans the truth about his mining interests in the DRC.
Last year, the news website ‘The Great Lake Side Eye’ reported that the SANDF mission in DRC was in the country to protect business interests.
The website reported that Ramaphosa was looking to get access to the mining hub, ‘prompting South African troops to viciously fight off the M23 rebels, with the resultant civilian casualties, for the sake of securing mining sites’.
Ramaphosa’s special envoy, Jeff Radebe, was married to Bridgette Motsepe, the president of the South African Mining Development Association, who is also the sister to Tshepo Motsepe (Ramaphosa’s wife).
Radebe’s brother-in-law, Patrice Motsepe, is one of Africa’s mining billionaires.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said he would not give credence to something that has no credibility.
He said: “We’ve repeatedly stated that the SANDF is part of the SADC peacekeeping force in the DRC. Whoever makes any other claim must prove it. Ask them to prove what they are claiming.”
SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said the allegations were explained during the appearance before the Parliament’s Defence Portfolio Committee on Tuesday.
This was after Defence and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga denied that the main reason behind the soldiers’ deployment was to protect Ramaphosa’s business interests.
Motshekga said the entire mission of the peacekeeping force in the DRC was based on the mandate of SADC.
Radebe said his knowledge and understanding is that the deployment of South African troops was decided by Ramaphosa, the Cabinet, and the National Assembly as provided for in the Constitution. He said this arose from the decision of SADC to deploy a peacekeeping force to the Eastern DRC comprising troops from Malawi, Tanzania, and South Africa.
“It is, therefore, factually incorrect to say our troops were deployed for the personal gains of the president. For clarity, I was not appointed by the president as special envoy to the DRC, but as special envoy to the Great Lakes Region, which comprises more than 10 countries including the DRC, said Radebe, adding that he was no longer married to Bridgette.
“As a consequence, the reference to those family ties is totally misplaced and misleading,” he said.
Motsepe, the founder and chairman of the African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), reportedly is keen to invest in the DRC phosphate project.
The ‘Africa Report’, a Paris-based English-language quarterly magazine, in May 2024 reported that Motsepe had a meeting with authorities in Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo, to discuss the launch of his phosphate plant in the west of the central African nation.
The ARM also had a 65% stake in Teal mining in 2005, which engaged in the exploration and development of mineral properties located in Namibia, Zambia, DRC, and Mozambique.
It was primarily explored for copper, nickel, zinc, and gold properties.
However, the company’s spokesperson Betty Maloka said ARM is a leading South African diversified mining and minerals company with operations in South Africa and Malaysia.
“African Rainbow Minerals Limited (ARM) does not have any mining operations, exploration projects or business interests in DRC,” she said.
Glencore, the mining company where Ramaphosa was a local empowerment partner at the time it acquired Optimum Coal Holdings (OCH) in South Africa in 2012, has had a presence in DRC since 2007. The company managed two industrial copper and cobalt operations.
Kamoto Copper Company SA (KCC) - a partnership with Gecamines (20% shareholding) and Simco (5% shareholding). Glencore also owns Mutanda Mining SARL (MUMI), in which the DRC government holds a 5% stake. Both mining companies are located in the Lualaba province.
Glencore said to date, it has invested over $8 billion in MUMI and KC’s development and its operations employed more than 8 700 people and had 7 650 contractors by the end of 2022.
However, Ramaphosa disinvested interests in Glencore in 2014 after he took office as the deputy president.
The company’s spokesperson in South Africa, Shivani Chetram, said: “This is total nonsense. The conflict is taking place around 1 000km away from our operations.”
Glencore was accused of attempting to extort money from Eskom through Ramaphosa’s position within the company at the time OCH was acquired.
AmaBhungane in 2014 reported that ANC stalwart Toyko Sexwale’s company, Africa Management Limited (ALM), allegedly profited from a notorious mine takeover and was caught up in the US investigation against a suspected DRC mining deal.
This was after Israeli billionaire businessman in natural resources, Dan Gertler, who was a friend of former president Joseph Kabila, rescued ALM and executed a takeover of a valuable copper mine outside a Katanga mining town.
ALM found itself in a financial crisis following its R1 billion investment to help Gertler buy a Katanga mine.
Numsa previously announced that Sexwale’s Mvelaphanda Holdings was set to invest R60 billion in the DRC over the next decade. The union said the company was set to move into mining, road building, railways, and the hotel industry.
Numsa added (no date on the statement) that Mvelaphanda and Zwelakhe Sisulu’s Afrimineral Holdings Group led a consortium that committed itself to a R600 million investment in copper and cobalt mining deposits in the Eastern parts of the DRC.
The consortium was also investing in gold mining.
“The new spate of investment commitments follows other South African companies who already operate in DRC. In 2002, Vodacom invested R564 million in cellular communication in DRC. Alcatel and Absa provided finance for Vodacom’s investment. Other companies such as Dimension Data and NamlTech have investments in DRC,” read the statement.
However, Sexwale’s executive assistant, Mokgethi Matlala, said the move did not materialise.
“Over 15 years ago, Mvela unsuccessfully attempted to invest in that county. May the souls of the gallant departed soldiers rest in peace,” he said.
Meanwhile, Retired SANDF General Fanisa Shezi said the deployment of SANDF in the DRC was political.
Shezi said he believed in the remarks made by Kagame that Ramaphosa was lying about what was going on. He said Radebe as an envoy, had never fought in any battle and did not understand the complex environment for an envoy to be able to mitigate and bring the parties together.
manyane.manyane@inl.co.za