Honouring the fallen: SA Navy commemorates officers while family seeks justice
Cape Town
Cailynn Pretorius
21 September 2025 | 8:24The three officers tragically passed away in 2023 due to poor weather conditions during a vertical transfer exercise off the coast of Kommetjie.
FILE: The SA Navy hosted a combined memorial service for Lieutenant-Commander Gillian Hector, Master Warrant Officer William Mathipa and Warrant Officer Mokwapa Mojela at the Wynberg Military Indoor Sport Complex on 27 September 2023. The three submariners lost their lives while doing a vertical transfer on the SAS Manthatisi submarine. Picture: Kayleen Morgan/EWN
The South African Navy honoured three naval officers on Sunday by commemorating them in the SAS Assegaai Submarine Museum.
The three officers tragically passed away in 2023 due to poor weather conditions during a vertical transfer exercise off the coast of Kommetjie.
Despite welcoming the commemoration, Commander Romero Hector, husband to the late Lieutenant Commander Gillian Hector, believes the South African Navy acted unprofessionally in handling this incident.
Hector believes the Navy blaming poor weather conditions is unacceptable.
"It's 2025 with weather applications on our phones everywhere we find. We can plan a day going to the beach a week in advance and for such a big institution and a person to come up in front of a country and tell us that I'm sorry Mother Nature happened was completely unacceptable for me," said Hector.
He added that he is committed to finding justice for his wife.
"I do believe the Navy was completely unprofessional in the manner in which they have addressed it, handled it from the start. I've personally pleaded to them from the start to let's work on what happened, let's try to find out what happened and get closure for what happened before we move on to celebratory activities," said Hector.
