Cape Town - “My Ma, ek is lief vir jou” (My mother, I love you) was the last message SANDF soldier, Staff Sergeant William Eddy Cola, sent his mom before he was killed in combat with M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Cola, who was his family’s breadwinner, peacemaker and hero, cared for two disabled relatives and the youth in his community before he died on Friday.
His family hailed him a hero both in their home and for his country, as he made it his mission to empower and recruit the youth from the Lankloof District, Louterwater in the Eastern Cape, to rise above their circumstances and grab opportunities, such as joining the SANDF.
A father of three, SSgt Cola had roots in the Western Cape and often worked at the Wynberg Military Base. A proud patriot and soldier, SSgt Cola served his country for 21 years and was part of the peacekeeping deployment efforts in the DRC.
His family member from the Western Cape - Munadia Maasdorp, has travelled to be with his bereaved mother, Hermina Heeger and aunt, Sandra Bruintjies in the Eastern Cape.
Speaking via a video call with the Cape Argus on Wednesday from Cola’s home in Louterwater, Heeger said she had last spoken with her son last Thursday, when he expressed his love to her.
“We last spoke on the Sunday and Wednesday and Thursday and on the Thursday, he just sent me a message saying: ‘My Ma, Ek is lief jou’,” she said, as relatives began to shed tears around her hearing the words.
“He would always tell me he loved me, he was my world, he was my everything.”
She said her son’s tertiary education included Marketing but he later joined the SANDF and was proud to be a soldier. Heeger received the news on Saturday, January 25, that her beloved son would not be returning home.
“The Chaplain from Oudtshoorn gave us the news that he had died.
“We must now wait on the SANDF for the way forward for his burial and body to be retrieved.”
Zoghrah Maasdorp, Cola’s cousin who lives in Cape Town and will be leaving soon for Louterwater, said they were inseparable, recalling their last conversation and how he had held the family together.
“He cared for the elderly and when his aunt suffered a stroke and came and lived with his mother, he took care of her,” she said.
“When his step-father was involved in an accident and became disabled, he also cared for him.
“That was the type of person he was, he loved his family and his mother was his world.
“He would often recruit and encourage the youth from his community to join the army, that there were better opportunities for them.
“He always said if he could do it, so could they.
“He was our family’s peacemaker, he kept us together and now he is gone.
“I could not believe it when I received the call that he was gone, I was devastated.
“When he used to come to Wynberg Military Base we would spend time together and even during our last conversation we were laughing and making jokes.”
Bruintjies said Cola was a proud soldier. “He was our hero and he had a passion to serve his country,” she said.
SANDF spokesperson, Siphiwe Dlamini, said they were concerned about the widespread circulation of a video on social media, accompanied by misleading claims suggesting that SANDF forces surrendered to M23 rebels.
“We wish to set the record straight. The footage in question depicts a white flag raised, which is an outcome of discussions between the opposing fighting forces to agree on a truce to allow M23 to recover their dead and injured in the vicinity of our base. “This will also open the route for our troops to access medical facilities.
This is common practice in any war. “Let members of the public not be alarmed by a video clip and its meaning.
“The SANDF remains fully committed to its peacekeeping responsibilities under the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and SADC.
“Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (SAMIDRC).
Our troops continue to operate with resolve, courage, and discipline in pursuit of peace and stability in the region.”