The Disbandment of the Apartheid SADF 31 Battalion

The Disbandment of the Apartheid SADF 31 Battalion

On 7 March 1993, the apartheid South African Defence Force’s (SADF) 31 Battalion was disbanded at a public ceremony in the Cape Province. About 1 000 soldiers were transferred to other units in the Northern Cape to help patrol the Namibian border. This Battalion was composed primarily of the San tribes (namely the Khwe and !Xun, the Baraquenas from Cuando-Cubango region of Angola and the Vasquelas from the Southern regions of Angola and north-eastern Namibia) who had been deployed in South African townships and who fought in the war in Namibia.

Apartheid President FW de Klerk announced that it would be disbanded as part of the efforts to end violence in South Africa, as they were allegedly involved in vigilante activities across the country, since the Battalion consisted of highly trained killers. However, when questioned about the motive behind the disbandment, the Deputy Chief of the apartheid South African Army, Major General Bertie Botha, insisted that there were no political reasons behind the move, but it was intended as a cost cutting exercise, since there were massive cuts in the military budget. According to General Botha, there was no longer a need for distinct Special Forces units, and the priority for the future were Rapid Deployment Units to emphasise South Africa’s position as a regional power and provide the ability to project power when and where necessary.

31 Battalion was formed by Colonel Delville Linford and was initially headquartered at Alpha Base and later Omega Base in the Kavango River, South West Africa (now Namibia). It started out as Alpha Group in 1974 and was renamed 31 Battalion in 1975. The majority of San soldiers had their origins as members of the Portuguese Army during the Angolan War of Independence known as the “Flechas” (“Arrows” in Portuguese), a unit of the Portuguese Special Forces. When the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) assumed power in Angola in November 1975, many of these forces joined the SADF.

It was towards the end of 1976 that apartheid South Africa’s support for the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) was exposed that the regime decided to create an Angolan Bravo Group, largely composed of former FNLA combatants, to complement the Alpha Group, who were of San origin. Both these groups, the Alpha and Bravo Groups, were renamed 31 and 32 Battalions respectively to become part of the apartheid South African Army’s counterinsurgency and reconnaissance, Task Force Zulu, efforts in the Angolan war.

Facing an international backlash for invading Angola under “Operation Savannah”, the apartheid SADF decided to form these units as counter-guerrilla forces against the South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO), instead of putting white South African troops back into Angola. The approach was that if they were captured during cross-border operations, they would deny their SADF membership since they were Angolan nationals, and they would operate using, formerly captured, FAPLA and SWAPO equipment.

31 Battalion was established as a light infantry battalion in the apartheid South African Army and in later years became part of the South West Territorial Force (SWATF) and was then called 201 Battalion. A major step towards the creation of this independent force occurred on 1 August 1980, when a Department of Defence was formed for South West Africa/Namibia under the Administrator General of South West Africa. For the first time in the history of the territory, control over an independent Namibian defence force became the responsibility of South West Africa.

As of that same date all the units created in the territory became known as the South West Africa Territorial Force (SWATF). Overall planning, liaison and cooperation between the SWATF and the SADF was carried out by a joint committee. The SWATF renumbered battalion numbers according to their geographical positioning (sectors) on the border with Angola. The prefix 10 pertained to battalions operating in Sector 10 to the west of the Kavango River, Sector 20 central region and Sector 70 to the eastern region. Under this system, 31 Battalion was renamed 201 Battalion in 1980, operating in Sector 20.

Two companies of 201 Battalion were always in the bush for six-week tours, while the remaining companies rested and retrained at Omega. After the bush tour, these companies returned to Omega and their place would be taken by the other half of the battalion. At least half of the battalion would be on operations at all times and the rotational schedule insured that fresh troops were in the bush hunting SWAPO’s military wing, PLAN (People’s Liberation Army of Namibia) guerrillas at all times. During “Operation Savannah” in Angola, members of 31 Battalion were deployed in a conventional role as Battle-Group Alpha, part of Task Force Zulu.

Some of the San were trained as parachutists and served in the unit’s reconnaissance wing behind enemy lines. Others were attached to various units as trackers and guides. Similar to its historically closely related twin unit 32 Battalion, it was a permanently operational unit and had its own in-house reconnaissance wing. The recce wing was used primarily for surveillance or clandestine missions in its operational area. This involved dangerous behind-the-line incursions-such as in the bush looking for SWAPO bases or arm caches, or gathering information and intelligence on SWAPO-PLAN units moving in the area. These operations required stealth, steady nerves, and well-trained, disciplined troops. To be successful, their presence would have to remain undetected by PLAN guerrillas or by SWAPO sympathizers.

The Battalion reverted to its 31 Battalion name in 1989 when it transferred back to the SADF. United Nations (UN) Resolution 435 called on South Africa to reduce its forces in Namibia to 12 000 before the start of any peace process and finally to 1 500 by 1989. Several thousand San, fearing reprisal or intimidation, left for South Africa with the SADF. The retired soldiers of 31 Battalion and their families were settled near Schmidtsdrif in the Northern Cape.

Nevertheless, the argument by Major General Bertie Botha that the disbandment of the Special Forces was not “politically motivated was patently untrue”. Peter Stiff maintains that “to a minor extent the changes might have had something to do with the protection of operators against reprisals by a future government, but the main reason was to place the Special Forces in deep cover to guard against the government being forced to disband them because of their past operations …” (The Silent War).

The new dispensation was soon to be ushered in, and fully democratic South Africa elections were imminent the following year. Yet, according to Stiff, “at that stage the SADF’s hierarchy really never believed or envisaged there would be a swift transfer of power in the military to former MK (Umkhonto we Sizwe) officers. They still believed that would hold the balance of power in the country after the elections and many undoubtedly harboured ambitions that if things went seriously wrong, they would be able to revert to the former status quo either with the encouragement of the Nationalist Government through a state of emergency or perhaps by means of a coup de’ état.”

Sources:
Wikipedia.
South African History Online (SAHO).
Morgan Norval, “Namibianizing The War”, Selous Foundation Press, Washington DC, 1989.
Marius Scheepers, “The Battle at Indungo, 31 October 1987: An SADF Military Venture Against SWAPO in the Angolan Border War”, University of Pretoria, December 2019.
Peter Stiff, “The Silent War: South African Recce Operations 1969 – 1994”, Galago, 1999.

Castro Khwela
Good day fellow Compatriots!