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Mathebula (B)

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No photograph available — remembrance poppy
Identity
Person No.
31681
Old ROH no.
35154
Service No.
Unknown
Last Name
Mathebula 8
First Name
Unknown
Initials
B
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1978 (±1 yr) 116
Age at Death
24
Death Record
Date of Death
15 August 2002 124
Cause code
Unknown
Cause of Death
Died from injuries received fighting veld fire at SAP training centre near Ellisras 1
Died from injuries received fighting veld fire at SAP training centre near Ellisras
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Corporal
Regiment
5 Special Forces Regiment 20
Formerly 5 Reconnaissance Regiment (1995)
Corps
South African Infantry Corps 10,347
Unit
5 Reconnaissance Regiment 9
Later renamed 5 Special Forces Regiment (1995)
Defence Force
SANDF 1,025
South African National Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,874
Locality
Gauteng 9,374
Cemetery
SADF WALL OF REMEMBRANCE, VOORTREKKER MONUMENT, PRETORIA 1,926
Grave Reference
Alternative Commemoration until grave found 1,612
Memorial
Memorial
SADF Wall of Remembrance
Location
On a koppie at the Voortrekker Monument, overlooking Pretoria
Address
Voortrekker Monument, Eeufees Road, Groenkloof, Pretoria, 0181, South Africa
Coordinates
-25.77639, 28.17583 · OpenStreetMap
Panel
Not listed against a numbered panel
On the panel
Position on the panel will be added with photographs
Unit History
Role at time of death
Special Forces (Reconnaissance)
Status
Permanent Force (Regular)
Part of
Special Forces Brigade
Part of
Special Forces Brigade
5 Special Forces Regiment operates as one of the standing/permanent operational regiments of South African Special Forces, established from the same 1972 lineage as 1 Reconnaissance Commando. Special Forces are their own branch within the SANDF, not part of the Army.
Notes

Of Giyani

Research notes

Mike Sandham 21 Aug 2026 omissions / SASFA In Memoriam: Mathebula Benneth KIO 2002 in the same Verdrag veld-fire cluster as Cpl Mavango PN 48613. ROH FirstName Jacob Themba, initials B left.
SASFA In Memoriam (operators): confirmed Special Forces operator. SASFA: Mathebula Benneth KIO 2002. https://www.recce.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/4.1.-Memoriam.pdf SN CORRECTION 25 Aug 2026: ServiceNo 95061032PV cleared -- the pantser.cmvo.org.za SADF deaths PDF lists that number under "MATHE, JACOB THEMBA" (CPL, Sterf 19 10 99), matching PersonNumber 31680 (Mathe, DateDeath 1999-10-19) by surname and exact date, not this record. Original value: "95061032PV". Left as an unresolved collision otherwise -- this correction is specific to this one PDF-confirmed case, not a general claim this record's other data is wrong.
FirstName contamination fixed 31 Aug 2026 (systemic full-table scan): FirstName ("Jacob Themba") was copied from the unrelated neighbouring record PersonNumber 31680 ("Mathe, Jacob Themba", initials J T) -- this record's own stored initials (B) don't match "Jacob Themba" at all. Confirmed by the existing 25 Aug 2026 SN CORRECTION note on this record, which already identified PersonNumber 31680 as the true owner of this record's copied ServiceNo via the same external source. Cleared back to unknown rather than guessed.
25 Sep 2026, Unit2 service-branch sweep: the stored Secondary Unit "Army" was CLEARED as a duplicate. It was not a sub-unit, it was a service-branch word repeating what the Branch column already says. Secondary Unit is for sub-units -- a company, a squadron, a commando -- and this record's branch of service is unchanged at "Army".

Citations
Unknown
External References
Stories 1
by Sapa Johan Meyer on 23 August 2006 · via source
PRETORIA Fifth SANDF soldier dies after fire Fri, 23 Aug 2002 A fifth SA National Defence Force soldier has died of burn wounds sustained during a veld fire at a police training area in Limpopo, the SANDF said on Friday.

Major GS Zulu (45) died on Thursday night at 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria, a statement said. He is survived by his wife, Happy Zulu. Five people died after fighting a blaze at the police Special Task Force's Verdrag urban anti-terrorist training area near Lephalale (Ellisras) last Tuesday. Two soldiers died on the day of the fire and a third died in hospital later that night. They were Warrant Officer Elias Viva Vavarirai (46) of Namakgale near Ba-Phalaborwa in Limpopo, Sergeant Nthatheni Makumbane (34) of Thohoyandou, and Sergeant Bongani Andries Nkwanyana (39) of Babanango in KwaZulu-Natal. The fourth man, Corporal B Mathebula (26) of Giyani, died in hospital at the weekend. All were from 5 SF Regiment, based at Ba-Phalaborwa. The soldiers and police were conducting a final training exercise for the World Summit on Sustainable Development that starts on Monday.
Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.