The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers who died earlier this month will be buried with military honours.
On Saturday, July 6, four soldiers were found dead inside a container structure which was used as a guard house for those on 24-hour duty in Orkney in the North West.
A fire to keep them warm during the sub-zero blizzard was made inside the container and the soldiers died of carbon monoxide poisoning. They were found dead by the relief guard team.
The soldiers were deployed to a 24-hour shift at Shaft 3, a dormant mining shaft in Orkney near the disused Harry Oppenheimer stadium which has been a hotspot for illegal mining.
In a statement released on Friday, the SANDF released the names of the soldiers: Lance Corporal L.S. Mbongwa, Private M.S Manganyi, Private L.R. T. Mpolokeng, and Private M.P. Nzukela.
Lance Corporal Mbongwa was buried with military honours in Mafunze Location, Elandskop, in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal.
This weekend the other three soldiers will be laid to rest.
The funeral of Private Manganyi will be held at Stand no 582 in Nwamarhanga village in Giyani, Limpopo. The service will start at 7am and the procession will then proceed to Nwamarhanga Cemetery for burial.
The funeral of Private Mpolokeng will be held at the Kimberley Recreation Hall in the Northern Cape at 8.30am and the procession will then proceed to West Park Cemetery for burial.
The funeral of Private Nzukela will be held at the Ngunjini village in Umzimkhulu, KZN starting from 9.30am. The burial will be conducted at home.
The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, Deputy Ministers of Defence and Military Veterans, Bantu Holomisa, and Richard Hlophe, together with the Secretary for Defence, Dr Thobekile Gamede, as well as the Chief of SANDF, General Rudzani Maphwanya, conveyed their condolences to the families of the deceased soldiers and the entire defence family.
robin.francke@iol.co.za
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