In their name
Mixed media
74 cm x 53,5 cm
Artist’s Statement
In Their Name is a visual tribute to the 14 South African soldiers who lost their lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) while serving in a peacekeeping mission. As an artist, I was moved to respond to the silence that often surrounds their sacrifice — how easily such losses fade from public memory.
The central figure represents the South African soldier, strong yet visibly burdened. The helmets, stained with blood and marked by the national flag, symbolise lives lost in service. Ghost-like silhouettes behind him echo the presence of the fallen, while the coded background alludes to how soldiers are often reduced to data or headlines, stripped of identity.
This work was created to honour those who served and died, not as nameless uniforms, but as sons, brothers, and individuals whose lives mattered. In Their Name is a call to remember them — not through politics or headlines, but through human empathy and national reflection.
Names of the 14 South African Soldiers who were killed in the DRC:
- Staff Sergeant William Eddie Cola
- Staff Sergeant Molahlehi Ishmael Molahlehi
- Staff Sergeant Shwahlane Theophilus Seepe
- Corporal Matome Justice Malesa
- Corporal Rinae Nemavhulani
- Lance Bombardier Itumeleng Macdonald Moreo
- Lance Corporal Tseke Moffat Molapo
- Lance Corporal Metse Stansly Raswiswi
- Rifleman Sebatane Richard Chokoe
- Rifleman Derrick Maluleke
- Rifleman Tshidiso Andries Mabele
- Rifleman Calvin Louis Moagi
- Rifleman Mokete Joseph Mobe
- Private Peter Jacobus Strydom
Gallery
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