Questions mount over SANDF, Iran and presidential authority

The Democratic Alliance is astounded at the necessity of Defence Minister Angie Motshekga to establish a Board of Inquiry into the handling of SANDF Commander-in-Chief President Cyril Ramaphosa’s instruction relating to the controversial Exercise Will for Peace 2026.

- CHRIS HATTINGH

It appears, based on the statement from the minister, that a presidential instruction was either defied or not implemented.

Minister Motshekga must appear before the Portfolio Committee on Defence without delay and account for what the President ordered, how that instruction was handled, how it aligned — or conflicted — with prior public statements by senior SANDF leadership, who took the relevant decisions, and why the order was not acted on immediately.

The establishment of a Board of Inquiry does not place Parliament in a holding pattern. Defence BOIs are well known for being slow, inward-looking processes that can take years to conclude, often behind closed doors.