By McGeorge Mbare
The Southern Africa Development Community has firmly dismissed allegations of negligent handling of troops that were deployed in Goma, eastern DR Congo, as published by South Africa ‘s News24 on May 18, 2025.
The SADC Secretariat boldly highlighted that the reports claiming failure of transport arrangements for South African soldiers are false, and those allegations were not even verified with SADC prior to publication.
“ The South African Development Community, categorically refutes the allegations published by News24 on May 18, 2025, which suggests that SADC has neglected it’s troops deployed in Goma, eastern DR Congo. The reports claim that transport arrangements for South African soldiers, including buses for their movement, failed to materialise. These allegations were not even confirmed with SADC before publication…,” SADC Secretariat statement read.
The SADC Secretariat also emphasized that the News24 ‘s claims are unfounded and misleading as they do not reflect the actual situation the ground.
The regional bloc’ s secretariat also unequivocally made it clear that all operational and logistical arrangements concerning the deployment and phased withdrawal of troops under the South African Development Community Mission in DR Congo are proceeding according to established plans.