The rescheduled committee meeting to discuss the deaths of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and the conflict, will now be held on Tuesday.

This after the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans formally applied for approval from House chairperson Cedric Frolick to convene a joint meeting between the Portfolio Committee and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence.

Chairperson the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans Dakota Legoete explained that the meeting would provide both committees with the opportunity to engage directly with Minister of Defence Angie Motshekga and senior military leadership.

The meeting was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, before Legoete postponed it, 12 hours before the start of the scheduled meeting.

The DA hit back against the chairperson, calling for an investigation into the postponement.

The DA claimed that the postponement was done without any consultation or input from members of the committee.

The party also noted that with the meeting intended to be an in-person event, most of the committee members were already making their way to parliamentary grounds when they received word of the chairperson’s unilateral move.

Legoete clarified that the cancellation of the scheduled committee meeting was to better facilitate a meeting with Motshekga, pointing out that such an engagement would not have been possible in the scheduled committee meeting of Wednesday, given the unavailability of Motshekga, who was attending the Cabinet lekgotla.

Legoete also pointed out that the SANDF and the Defence Ministry had communicated poorly in the wake of the public outcry about the deaths of the South African soldiers in the eastern DRC.

“The committee is therefore committed to the need for a proper engagement with the Minister and the SANDF on the matter,” he explained.

“Other matters that will influence the content of such an engagement still have to play out over the coming days, pointing to the upcoming Southern African Development Community meeting," which he said would strongly influence the situation on the ground.

"Such factors further influenced the decision to look for a later date to engage with the Minister," Legoete said, apologising to his fellow committee members for the postponement.

“I sincerely and unreservedly apologise to my fellow committee members for the inconvenience caused by the cancellation of the meeting. I assure members of this committee and South Africans that the committee’s focus has not been diverted from its crucial oversight responsibilities,” he said.