SANDF member Sergeant Vusumuzi Joseph Mabena, 37, who was shot while on duty in DRC remembered.

SANDF member Sergeant Vusumuzi Joseph Mabena, 37, who was shot while on duty in DRC remembered. Image via Facebook/ SA National Defence Force

SANDF soldier killed in DRC remembered

SA National Defence Force member Sergeant Vusumuzi Joseph Mabena, 37, who was shot while on duty in DRC remembered.

SANDF member Sergeant Vusumuzi Joseph Mabena, 37, who was shot while on duty in DRC remembered.

SANDF member Sergeant Vusumuzi Joseph Mabena, 37, who was shot while on duty in DRC remembered. Image via Facebook/ SA National Defence Force

South African National Defence Force (SANDF) member Sergeant Vusumuzi Joseph Mabena, 37, who was shot while on duty in the Democratic of Congo (DRC) was remembered in a memorial service on Thursday, 16 February.

Mabena and his crew were part of a UN Stabilisation Mission in Congo called Monusco.

CREW ATTACKED ON AIR

They were travelling in Goma by helicopter when they came under fire on 5 February.

Mabena was fatally shot and another soldier pilot in command, Major Omolemo Matlapeng suffered injuries.

ALSO READ: SANDF soldier killed after helicopter comes under fire in DRC

They managed to continue flying the chopper and landed safely at Goma Airpot.

However, Mabena had already succumbed to his injuries while Matlapeng, struck in the shoulder by the same bullet, underwent surgery and survived.

SLAIN SOLDIER REMEMBERED

According to Times Live, SA Air Force held a memorial service for the soldier at the Swartkop Air Force Base in Centurion.

Mabena leaves behind his three daughters. Two of the girls are four and the other is eight.

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His uncle, Prince Sipho Mabena, said that Mabena’s death negatively affected his family.

“We are badly affected by this and we lost a person who was a protector in his job and at home. At home, he loved his children. He did amazing things with them like putting the babies on his back. He had so much love for his children,” Mabena said as quoted by the report.

FAMILY PLEADS DEFENCE FORCE TO PAY FOR THE LATE SOLDIER’s KIDS EDUCATION

Prince further pleaded with the defence force to help pay for the children’s education as one of Mabena’s goals was to make sure they had a good education.

Mabena joined the SANDF in 2007 as a training technician and joined the air force in 2011 where he received training for a year in Bloemfontein.

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He was then transferred to Durban and moved up to Gauteng to be closer to his family before being deployed to the DRC.

It’s not yet clear who fired the bullet that hit the helicopter, but it is suspected that M23 rebels were responsible as the incident occurred over an area controlled by them, IOL reported.

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