Fikile Mbalula on SA Navy's Admiral Lobese: ‘One day we’ll be arrested naked by these people’
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has slammed Navy chief Vice Admiral Monde Lobese for his explosive remarks suggesting Cabinet officials behind SANDF budget cuts may be “in the pockets of drug dealers,” warning that such outbursts from generals are “worrisome” and undermine discipline in the security forces.
Image: SANDF
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has strongly criticised the Chief of the South African Navy, Vice Admiral Monde Lobese, who questioned whether Cabinet officials behind budget cuts to the defence force were “in the pockets of drug dealers.”
Mbalula said the thorny issue of funding the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the broader security apparatus must be addressed through proper channels.
“South Africa is faced with a difficult situation of outbursts by people in security positions. This general was not speaking in the army, he was speaking at a party or something. I saw him in a very nice suit at a gala dinner. It’s unheard of that generals address gala dinners and talk big things. No man, it should be worrisome,” Mbalula told journalists in Johannesburg.
“This country has a president, who is the commander-in-chief. We have the National Security Council in this country … you have generals outburst. You (journalists) and I can make those comments in a party, we are not securocrats. We also have a Parliament.”
Mbalula said Lobese’s remarks bordered on revealing state secrets.
“Is that not gross violation of state secrets and security? I can imagine an admiral of an army in a small country I won’t mention by name, going on TV and saying we are naked. Those things are supposed to be said by civilians who do not know anything, and then generals would quickly come in and say, you are making a mistake. Are these people fermenting tendencies of coup de tat? They start like this, when generals become politicians overnight.
“One day we are going to be woken up in our rooms, naked, are arrested by these people who are addressing us in parties and all of that with state secrets. This is worrisome. It’s a problem. Is South Africa under any threat? It is not. We are a democratic state and we have survived because of who we are. But if our army generals just do as they wish, with due respect, you can’t have generals of the army speaking like that.”
Mbalula emphasised: “We must step in now in terms of discipline.”
The former minister of police said what Lobese did was the opposite of how countries are run and protected.
On Tuesday, IOL reported that the national Department of Defence had distanced itself from comments made by Vice Admiral Lobese.
In a statement, the department said it had “noted with concern” the remarks made by Lobese during the Navy Gala Dinner over the past weekend.
“During the delivery of his speech, Vice Admiral Lobese made an unfortunate statement that cast aspersions at the leadership of government,” the department said.
The statement added that Defence Minister Angie Motshekga regarded the comments “as inappropriate, disingenuous and unfortunate” on a matter “receiving attention at all levels, starting from within the department to Parliament.”
“The minister will be taking appropriate steps to deal with this unfortunate outburst, worse still from a senior person at his level,” the department said.
It further emphasised that Lobese’s comments “do not reflect the official position of the department.”
The controversy stems from Lobese’s weekend address, in which he warned that Cabinet’s approval of SANDF workforce cuts was tantamount to asking the Defence Force to implement “a Defence version” of what SAPS KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, once revealed to the Madlanga Commission regarding the closure of the Political Killings Task Team.
He went on to question whether decision-makers responsible for defunding the SANDF “may be directly or indirectly influenced by drug cartels, illegal traders, maritime criminals or human traffickers.”
Lobese’s comments have sparked widespread discussion in defence and political circles, with many observers noting that his public criticism is rare for a serving senior officer.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
IOL News