The Air Force is going to charge four of its members, including members of a helicopter crew, with culpable homicide after four South African peacekeeping soldiers drowned in a 2002 river exercise in Burundi.
This step follows after the results of the council of inquiry's drawn-out investigation were recently announced. Captain Ronald Maseko, Air Force spokesperson, said the four soldiers would be tried in a military court in terms of the military code of discipline.
Informed sources close to the investigation, as well as pilots, think the decision to charge only four Air Force members is unfair.
The four who drowned had taken part in the exercise as volunteers with six other soldiers.
The exercise entailed that they would jump with their backpacks into the Rusizi River and then be winched up by rope into the helicopter.
The four never said they could not swim. In addition, there was an instructor in charge of them, and an officer had authorised the exercise. These people would apparently escape prosecution.
The Air Force members are being charged because they did not comply with certain operational procedures (SOPs), which must be followed while practising simulated rescues from water.
It is claimed there were no lifejackets or a lifeboat on board. A video recording was made of the whole exercise, and informed sources say it shows how the troops were cracking jokes and laughing in the helicopter before the exercise.
The video apparently showed clearly that there were problems as soon as the men jumped into the water. They began sinking and some of their alarmed comrades tried to keep their heads above water.
Downward pressure
The downward pressure from the helicopter's vanes
hampered the rescue attempts. The video showed how one soldier tried to keep two of the drowning men's heads above water, but got into difficulties himself and had to let one go.
The helicopter's flight engineer also jumped into the water to help with the rescue. Now he is going to be charged with culpable homicide.
It was learned that prosecuting the four members is part of the Air Force's new approach to the legal prosecution of offenders, instead of deciding internally on misdemeanours.