PDF
« Previous

Mpembe , Motsemoholo Joseph (M J)

Next »
No photograph available — remembrance poppy
Identity
Person No.
32054
Old ROH no.
999
Service No.
88703517PB
Last Name
Mpembe 1
First Name
Motsemoholo Joseph
Initials
M J
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1965 (±1 yr) 279
Age at Death
23
Death Record
Date of Death
20 May 1988 141
Cause code
ACC 1,584
Accident
Cause of Death
Died in Freak Accident 255
Died in Freak Accident, parachuting accident, at Kenilworth
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Rifleman
Regiment
5 Reconnaissance Regiment 72
Later renamed 5 Special Forces Regiment (1995)
Unit
Unknown
Defence Force
SADF 3,834
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
South Africa 23,873
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
Regular Force
Each numbered Reconnaissance unit was renamed over time: "X Reconnaissance Commando" -> "X Reconnaissance Regiment" (1981) -> briefly a Parachute Battalion designation (1992/93, under "45 Parachute Brigade", a Special-Forces-only designation distinct from the real 44 Parachute Brigade) -> "X Special Forces Regiment" (1995). The parent formation itself changed name several times before 1995 (Special Forces Headquarters, then Directorate Reconnaissance(Forces)) with disputed exact dates between sources -- 1995 is the one date sources agree on. Corps classified as SAIC (South African Infantry Corps) per this site's own records; no independent source found confirms that for Special Forces units specifically -- treat as owner-asserted pending a better citation.
Notes

No additional information known at this time

Research notes

SASFA In Memoriam (selection incomplete): passed selection but died before completing the cycle and becoming an operator (not awarded operator status). SASFA: Mpembe M Joseph 1988. https://www.recce.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/4.1.-Memoriam.pdf 26 Aug 2026: Unit was leftover "South West Africa Police Counter-Insurgency Wing: Ops-K Division (KOEVOET)". SAWGP Regiment 5 Reconnaissance Regiment with no separate unit.
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

No stories have been added yet.

Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.