Daily Maverick reports that the SA Navy has handed the Hawks a copy of the board of inquiry report into the 2023 submarine accident that claimed the lives of three submariners.

Lieutenant Commander Gillian Hector, executive officer on the SAS ’Manthatisi, and two colleagues, Master Warrant Officer William Mathipa and Warrant Officer Class 1 Mmokwapa Mojela, were killed in the accident off Kommetjie, Cape Town, in September 2023. Romero Hector, the widower of Gillian Hector, said on Wednesday that while he welcomed the handing over to the Hawks of the report, he still did not have a copy. Hector pointed out that the fact that the report had been given to the Hawks did not mean that he would get to see it. He said he would continue his pursuit of a copy to take the next steps in a civil claim relating to the death of his wife. Last month, he undertook a gruelling bike ride from Cape Town to the Valley of Desolation outside Graaff-Reinet to bring attention to his efforts to obtain justice for his wife, Mojela and Mathipa. Navy spokesperson Commander Theo Mabina confirmed that the board of inquiry report into the tragedy was officially handed to the Hawks during a meeting at Naval Headquarters in Pretoria on 8 July. He indicated: “The engagements were meant to assist the Hawks with their ongoing investigations into the tragic incident wherein the SA Navy lost three of its submariners following a vertical transfer exercise between SAS ’Manthatisi and a SA Air Force Maritime Lynx helicopter in September 2023.” Chris Hattingh, Democratic Alliance spokesperson for Defence and Military Veterans, said he too had been trying to get a copy of the report, but welcomed the handover to the Hawks.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Estelle Ellis at Daily Maverick

Get other news reports at the SA LabourNews home page