Survivors of bomb blasts in Makhanda plead with Defence department to secure its unfenced army base

Four survivors of bomb blasts linked to explosive devices that were picked up at an army base in Makhanda, in the Eastern Cape, have pleaded with the Defence Department to secure the base and restrict access to the public, as an urgent safety precaution to prevent more fatalities. 

The plea comes after News24 reported how the 6th SA Infantry Battalion’s 7 000-hectare training area was allowed to degenerate into a wasteland with no fences and people entering the grounds despite unexploded ordnance strewn around.

At least three civilians have already been killed, and four others were injured in three different bomb blasts in the nearby town. All the ordnance, which detonated in densely populated urban areas in the Eastern Cape town between November 1995 and March 2021, was allegedly picked up from the unfenced base owned by SA Defence Force.