By: Kaya 959 News
A soldier has been found guilty and demoted after a video showing him intoxicated while dressed in full uniform went viral on social media last month.
South African National Defence Force spokesperson Brigadier General Mafi Mgobozi said Corporal PN Ngcobo was dressed in full SANDF camouflage gear at the time the video was taken.
“The soldier was arrested and charged for Unseemly Conduct. He was detained by the Military Police in Thaba Tshwane and was kept in custody at the Military Detention Barracks pending his court appearance in a court of a military judge,” he said.
We have serious social illnesses and they manifest in different forms
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— Engineer Matšhela Koko (@koko_matshela) August 19, 2021
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Mgobozi said Ngcobo, a Reserve Force member, appeared in the court of a military judge and was charged under the Military Disciplinary Code.
“He was found guilty on the charge preferred against him. He was sentenced to a reduction in rank, one rank lower, from a Corporal to a Lance Corporal,” he said.
Chief of the SANDF General Rudzani Maphwanya and members of the Military Command reiterate and remind all members of the SANDF that no act of ill-discipline or criminality will be tolerated or go unpunished in the military, regardless of rank or position.
“Members of the SANDF are expected to conduct themselves with the necessary decorum and discipline at all times,” Maphwanya said.
Meanwhile, the SANDF has shrugged off allegations that soldiers were withdrawn from Operation Prosper – a joint operation between police and the SANDF to prevent a further outbreaks of violence, looting, and destruction following July’s unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
“The SANDF acknowledges that there were challenges regarding ration packs and payment of meal allowances. These challenges received the necessary attention. As a measure to address development challenges, there are processes in place to prioritise and address challenges as and when they prevail. This is an ongoing process for the duration of the operation. It is outright disingenuous to suggest or to insinuate that soldiers are starving and are considering withdrawing from the operation,” Mgobozi said.
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