Botswana loses a sixth soldier in a mission to Mozambique

Botswana has reported that a sixth of its soldiers fighting rebels in Mozambique have died.

The anonymous soldier committed suicide in Cabo Delgado province, where African troops are combating Islamist terrorists, according to a recent media statement by Magosi Moshagane, a spokesman for the Botswana Defense Force.

To determine the circumstances behind the death, according to Moshagane, investigations are being conducted.

A senior BDF army officer shot and murdered a female subordinate and injured another soldier in December before turning the gun on himself. Two soldiers died in strange accidents during the same month, while the army lost one soldier in battle.

Military specialists are concerned about the manner of deaths.

Richard Moleofe, a retired military commander and army chaplain who learned how to prevent suicide in the US, says that the BDF has had problems like these before.

This has happened before, according to Moleofe. “This incident happened again in the late 1980s. “The military at the time sought chaplains due to the high number of homicides and suicides, and I had the honour of being the first chaplain to board.”

Moleofe suggested that the Botswana Defense Force hire more priests and psychiatrists to help the soldiers in Cabo Delgado get ready on an emotional level.

I implore the military to place a greater emphasis on this area of training, particularly on how to deal with suicides, said Moleofe.Being in a position where they have little influence over the thoughts of their soldiers is one of the most irritating things for generals.

Jasmine Opperman, a security expert in Johannesburg who focuses on extremism, says that foreign forces will have a hard time in Cabo Delgado.

This creates an extremely difficult scenario for the soldiers, according to Opperman. “To add to this complexity, also sit with the Mozambican forces and Rwandan forces deployed in Cabo Delgado, which requires such cooperation, intelligence sharing, and the ability to act proactively.”

Velly Mpopelang, a former soldier in the BDF who now works as a security policy analyst, said that these kinds of problems should be covered in troop training.

According to Mpopelang, “as a nation, we are worried by the incidences, which involve suicides more so than operational incidents.” “Soldiers typically undergo pre-deployment training before participating in these kinds of missions.” “A variety of concerns will be covered in this pre-deployment training, and it will also prepare them emotionally and psychologically.”

In 2021, Botswana deployed 296 soldiers to Cabo Delgado. It is one of the eight members of the South African Development Community taking part in the campaign to snuff out violent extremism in the oil-rich region.