On Friday 29 May, South Africa by way of its national defence force commemorated the International Day of United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers at the De Brug Wall of Remembrance.
The world body marks the day annually to coincide with activation of its first peacekeeping mission – UNTSO (UN Truce Supervision Organisation) in Palestine in 1948. Unlike previous years, the official UN commemoration is set down for Friday 5 June at UN Headquarters in New York where outgoing Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will posthumously honour 68 military, police and civilian peacekeepers, including 59 who died in 2025, with the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal. Almost 4 500 deaths are recorded in UN peacekeeping ranks with the day seen as a tribute to them and their colleagues still doing peacekeeping duty.
There are, according to the UN, three South African peacekeepers on the list of posthumous recipients. They are privates Mokete Joseph Mobe and Andries Tshidiso Mabele, reported as killed while attached to the then Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) in January 2025.
The third South African on the list is Mohlatlego Annikie Kgobe listed by the world body as killed while on detached duty to MONUSCO in February 2024.
South Africa, a UN spokesman said, first provided peacekeepers to the UN in 1999 with a SA National Defence Force (SANDF) contribution to MONUSCO predecessor MONUC. UN statistics have it South Africa is currently the 29th largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping.
It presently has just over 400 peacekeepers based with UN peacekeeping missions in Abyei, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.
Addressing the Friday event, SANDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Michael Ramantswana, paid tribute to those who gave their lives for peace. He reminded the parade, including families of dead soldiers, the peacekeepers protected peace and vulnerable communities as well as defending humanity in conflict affected regions under the UN flag. Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga laid a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance.
Since establishment of the SANDF in 1994, over 100 soldiers have been lost on peace missions, in combat and due to other causes such as accidents. The single biggest loss of life suffered by South African forces deployed continentally since the establishment of the SANDF was the ill-fated Battle for Bangui in the Central African Republic (CAR) in March 2013 when 15 elite soldiers were killed and a further 27 wounded in a vicious firefight that saw the deaths of several hundred Seleka rebels.
The second largest loss of life was 14 deaths in late January 2025, when SANDF troops fought M23 rebels in Sake and Goma while deployed with the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC). Several soldiers from Malawi and Tanzania, the other SAMIDRC troop contributing countries, also lost their lives. South African troops are estimated to have killed hundreds of M23 rebels in the fighting in North Kivu province, with some estimates putting the enemy death toll at 700.
Peacekeeping is dangerous work and an idea of its risks can be found in statistics from the United Nations, which has recorded some 4 500 fatalities in all UN peace operations since 1948.
South Africa is revered for being a major contributor to the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission efforts. Since democracy numerous peacekeeping deployments have been undertaken, including operations Mistral, Sunray, Teutonic, and Thiba in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Operation Espresso on the Eritrea-Ethiopia border; Operation Fibre in Burundi; Operation Triton in the Comoros; Operation Montego in Liberia; Operation Cordite in Darfur; Operation Pristine in Cote D’Ivoire; Operation Vimbizela in the Central African Republic; Operation Bongane in Uganda; Operation Rachel in Mozambique; Operation Manguzi in Angola, Lesotho and Namibia, Operation Vikela in Mozambique (with the SADC), and Operation Thiba in the DRC (SAMIDRC).