By: David Rilley-Harris, Curator, DITSONG: National Museum of Military History (DNMMH)

In the spirit of a dream that South Africa could spearhead an African Renaissance after its 1994 democratic elections, the country began decades of dedication to peacekeeping efforts on the continent. The bravery and sacrifice of those peacekeepers became the bedrock on which South African foreign policy developed.

Despite exceptional efforts of the United Nations (UN) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the peacekeeping mission in that country has been large and cumbersome with progress repeatedly made and then lost. Peacekeeping has also been required closer to home in neighbouring Mozambique, which has led to casualties and direct terrorist threats against South Africa. After a three-year mission in the most volatile Mozambiquan region of Cabo Delgado, South Africa has partially withdrawn, but one and a half thousand South African soldiers in Mozambique have had their deployment extended. While the UN appeals for increased funding for the Mozambique crisis, South Africa has intermittently closed its border with Mozambique where over seventy thousand more people have been displaced in 2024 alone.

International political polarisation has muddied the waters of objective peacekeeping. Growing tensions between Rwanda and the DRC have threatened the development of a widening conflict and have strained South Africa’s diplomatic relations with Rwanda. The costs have increased, particularly in the loss of lives and injuries among South African peacekeepers. One South African soldier was killed early in 2023 when the helicopter he was travelling in came under fire. In 2024, South African soldiers faced casualties during peacekeeping operations. In February, two soldiers were killed and three injured in a mortar attack. In May, another soldier lost his life, and several others were wounded in a clash with rebels, which also resulted in the destruction and capture of South African armoured vehicles. In June, a mortar attack claimed the lives of two soldiers and injured twenty more, four critically. In July, one soldier was killed by a grenade.

Due to increasing costs, lack of progress, and requests from the DRC government, the UN has been scaling back its peacekeeping operations and South Africa has attempted to fill some gaps with a South African Development Community (SADC) mission. However, financial constraints have left the South African peacekeepers inadequately equipped to face the increasing resources of rebel and insurgent forces. While the UN and South Africa have struggled to finance peacekeeping operations, rebel groups have been improving their equipment through discreet international sponsorship. In the DRC, one rebel group has been collecting “taxes” from the citizens they terrorise. The SADC mission in the DRC is expected to cost two billion rand annually and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) remains underfunded. Inadequate air support and logistical support has played a role in South African casualties in the DRC where over one hundred armed groups have been turning up the heat. South Africa’s three Rooivalk attack helicopters have been withdrawn and returned to the country. They are estimated to require a year’s work to bring them back to serviceable condition. The UN has been gradually drawing down its peacekeeping forces in the DRC, aiming to minimise its presence in the region before the beginning of 2025. The UN mission comprised the primarily South African supported Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), which has been the most potent peacekeeping weapon against rebel forces. The UN withdrawal puts South Africa under severe pressure to fill the vacuum with South Africa / DRC trade in 2023 exceeding twenty-six billion rand. South Africa’s presence in the DRC has also been a major factor in maintaining its international relevance and influence.

South Africa’s contribution to peacekeeping had generally increased between 1994 and 2010. Between 2010 and 2015, the number of South African soldiers deployed stagnated and in 2024 South Africa had roughly one and a half thousand soldiers in Mozambique and roughly three thousand in the DRC SADC mission. In terms of South African soldiers serving in the UN, South Africa currently provides over one thousand, making South Africa the world’s fifteenth largest UN troop contributor. South Africa contributes the sixth largest number of female UN peacekeepers, with 230 in service.

The prospect of South Africa remaining a relevant peacekeeping power will require investment in the SANDF which can be weighed against the financial loss of losing diplomatic footing on the continent. Additionally, access to the DRC’s tremendous mineral wealth remains a factor in South Africa’s continued involvement in the region. South African diplomatic efforts may offer some relief by encouraging greater SADC and UN assistance, but such diplomacy is increasingly difficult as the world’s wealthiest nations become more aggressively competitive with one another. After a quarter century of strength and sacrifice, the potential of a South African peacekeeping withdrawal is a distressing prospect. The international ramping down of peacekeeping in Africa does not bode well for continental stability or for the security of the defenceless civilians under threat. What began as a dream of an African Renaissance has turned into a difficult decision on how to maintain South Africa’s stability and integrity.