Almost 3000 military vets push ahead with reparations claim of R4.2m each
Lawyers for 2 700 liberation struggle military veterans are pushing ahead with their legal claim for R4.2 million each against the government over its failure to deliver on the compensation they were promised for their contribution to ending apartheid.
The group has served notice on the department of defence and military veterans and the presidency over the claim, which their lawyers say is based on the R500 000 each they were promised in 1994, with interest and escalation.
They want the government to abide by the agreements reached in 2020, which were contained in a consensus document signed off on by both parties.
The group consists of members of the Umkhonto we Sizwe MIlitary Veterans Association, the Azanian People’s Liberation Army Military Veterans Association and the Azanian National Liberation Army Military Veterans Association.
They marched on the presidency in 2020, after which they met then deputy president David Mabuza, who headed the presidential task team appointed to resolve their issues, and who secured a consensus agreement with the former soldiers.
In addition to the payouts, they demanded a pension of R15 000 a month per former soldier and a presidential declaration on the plight of veterans.
They also want an investigation into alleged prejudices they suffered during the integration process with the former apartheid army and other statutory forces to set up today’s South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
The group now calls itself the Liberation Struggle War Veterans of South Africa and have decided to go to court after years of marches and asking the government to intervene in their situation.
They claim that their years of service were overlooked, that preferential treatment and rank were given to those from the statutory forces and that those of them who were integrated into the South African Police Service suffered similar prejudicial treatment.
In October 2021, a follow-up meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa had to be called off after tensions flared and veterans allegedly held Defence Minister Thandi Modise, her deputy, Thabang Makwetla, and then minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele hostage for several hours.
A total of 53 veterans were charged with kidnapping and attempted kidnapping, but the National Prosecuting Authority declined to prosecute in May last year.
In September, they marched on the Union Buildings again, serving the presidency with a memorandum, which they followed up with a letter of demand in which they outlined their legal claim.
Their lawyer, Andries Nkome, said they were now compiling a full list of all the nearly 2 700 former combatants, across all formations, who had approached them to join in the reparations claim.
“We keep on having more and more people coming through wanting to join the claim. We are in the process of confirming the duration of service for each, where they were sent to , by whom and to which county, which has to happen before we serve the final summons,” Nkome said.
“The department wanted details as to who we represent. We informed them of this immediately and they have not come back to us since. The instruction from the client is therefore to continue with the action.”
Nkome said the quantum of the claim was based on the figure of R500 000 each they were promised in 1994, with escalations, which worked out to about R4.2 million each today.
Department of military veterans spokesperson Lebogag Mothapa had not responded to queries from the Mail & Guardian at the time of writing.