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Yenga , Manuel (M)

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No photograph available — remembrance poppy
Identity
Person No.
33920
Old ROH no.
1857
Service No.
78913183SP
Last Name
Yenga 1
First Name
Manuel
Initials
M
Date of Birth
Unknown
Est. Birth Year
1957 (±1 yr) 431
Age at Death
23
Death Record
Date of Death
03 March 1980 159
Cause code
KIA 14,778
Killed in action
Cause of Death
Killed in action 14,654
Killed in action, triggered a Soviet POM-Z2 anti-personnel picket mine inside an enemy bunker near Naulila (Operation Makalani)
Military Service
Branch
Army
Rank
Rifleman
Regiment
32 (Buffalo) Battalion 275
Later renamed 32 Battalion
Corps
South African Infantry Corps 10,347
Unit
Unknown
Defence Force
SADF 3,839
South African Defence Force
Location
Country
Namibia 768
Locality
Caprivi 225
Cemetery
KIMBO CEMETERY, BUFFALO 177
Grave Reference
OLD SEC 115 1
Memorial
32 Battalion Tree of Honour roll, transcribed by Derek Walker Source: graves-at-eggsa.org (site now inactive), via Mike Sandham, 28 Aug 2026
Names on Tree of Honour
Memorial
32 Battalion Tree of Honour
Location
Within the Voortrekker Monument heritage precinct, Pretoria
Address
Voortrekker Monument, Eeufees Road, Groenkloof, Pretoria, 0181, South Africa
Coordinates
-25.77639, 28.17583 · OpenStreetMap
Panel
Tree of Honour
On the panel
No. 40
Awards
Pro Patria Medal
Pro Patria Medal
South Africa
Pro Patria Medal warrant, Government Gazette No. 5171 (25 Jun 1976), Rule 5, as amended by GG No. 5575 (3 Jun 1977); discontinued by GG No. 25213 (25 Jul 2003, Schedule corrected by GG No. 26778, 17 Sep 2004) for service on/after 27 Apr 2003. Gazette extracts: https://rohsa.co.za/award.php?id=24
Notes

ref "Die Buffel Struikel" by LJ Bothma

Research notes

Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 03 Mar 2024: 78913183SP Rifleman Manuel Yenga, 32 Battalion, Killed in Action when he triggered a Soviet POM-Z2 anti-personnel picket mine inside an enemy bunker near Naulila during Operation Makalani, age 25. ROH age 23 left (1978-prefix SN; Graham 25 noted). Naulila / Makalani already on ROH; POM-Z2 filled into the booby-trap bunker account.
Mike Sandham's research log ("List 1"), imported 16 Sep 2026, credited to The South Africa War Graves Project unless his entry says otherwise: gives Age 25 against this record's 23. This record has no date of birth, so there is nothing to adjudicate with. Flagged, not changed.
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
  • Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post
    Col (rt) Graham du Toit Last Post 03 Mar 2024: 78913183SP Rifleman Manuel Yenga, 32 Battalion, Killed in Action when he triggered a Soviet POM-Z2 anti-personnel picket mine inside an enemy bunker near Naulila during Operation Makalani, age 25. ROH age 23 left (1978-prefix SN; Graham 25 noted). Naulila / Makalani already on ROH; POM-Z2 filled into the booby-trap bunker account.
  • Mike Sandham List 1
    List 1 (Mike Sandham hard-to-research list): listed as 'Jenga' (year 1980). list wall/ref 80020128. matched ROH by force number 78913183SP. list surname/spelling form 'Jenga' vs ROH name. list notes: 01 Jan 1980(Date of Death 2 = 1980-12-31) M Jenga from 32 Battalion Unknown cause of death. Force Number = 78913183SP, Name and Rank = Yenga M.?, Rfn, Date of Death = 1980/03/03, Killed in Action when he triggered a Soviet POM-Z2 Anti-Personnel Picket Mine inside an enemy bunker ....
  • SADF.info Border Roll of Honour open source ↗
    SADF.info Border RoH
  • South African War Graves Project open source ↗
  • The War in Angola open source ↗
    War In Angola Roll of Honour (warinangola.com, tabid=1175), pages 36-41 of 143: confirmed, no changes.
Stories 1
by Peter on 08 December 2010 · via source
On 3 March 1980, 32 Battalion's platoons were ten kilometres inside Angola, and were approached by a member of the local population, who advised them of a SWAPO base west of the Cunene River and about one kilometre from Calueque. This information was not followed up as it was outside of the assigned patrol area. However, at 10:45 Golf Company's second platoon was following up on the tracks of some ten SWAPO insurgents, seven kilometres east of Naulila, and stumbled on a large underground cache of maize meal. Initial prodding by the platoon sergeant failed to indicate any signs of a booby trap, so Rifleman Yenga went to remove one of the sacks of maize. Sadly, this proved to be booby trapped, and the APPMISR jump mine concealed beneath the sack exploded, killing Yenga and wounding Corporal B. Dixisi and Riflemen M. Bocolo and M. Carlos. Information extracted from 32 Battalion: The Inside Story of South Africa's Elitre Fighting Unit , by Piet Nortje.
Dedications

No dedications have been added yet.