Soldiers to be compensated

HIGH COURT AWARDS PAIR MORE THAN R140 000 EACH AFTER DISMISSALS Judge finds commander did not follow proper procedure.

The defence minister has been ordered to compensate two senior members of the Reserve Force who were summarily removed from their posts at a military base near Nelspruit, while doing duty during the 2010 World Cup.

Acting Judge MA Lukhaimane ruled in the High Court in Pretoria that Samuel van den Berg and Gerhard Glas were entitled to compensation of more than R140 000 each for the damage to their right to freedom, dignity and their loss of allowances and leave payments.

Van den Berg was deployed as company commander and Glas as company sergeant major to the Macademia base in support of border control efforts in 2010.

Reserve Force members were to replace the South African Police Service but on their arrival, the police had not yet left and the defence force members had to share overcrowded rooms.

When troops started complaining about the conduct of, especially, Van den Berg, the late Colonel Nceba Bobelo – the commander of the SANDF’s joint tactical headquarters in Mpumalanga – visited the base and spoke to the troops in Van den Berg’s absence.

The complaints included that Van den Berg had used the motto “fit in or f*** of”, that he manhandled a sergeant and denied troops the right to consult social workers. He denied the allegations.

Glas was not implicated, but was apparently targeted because he shared a room with Van den Berg.

An investigative team recommended a board of inquiry, but Bobelo decided that both men must immediately be withdrawn.

No enquiry was held and Van den Berg was charged by a military judge for assault and found not guilty.

Lukhaimane found that Bobelo