Widower determined to hold SA Navy accountable for his wife's death in submarine incident

The husband of an SA Navy commander who died tragically after being swept off a submarine in stormy sea conditions off the coast of Kommetjie is determined to hold the SA Navy accountable for his wife's death.

Lieutenant-Commander Gillian Hector, Master Warrant Officer William Mathipa and Warrant Officer Mokwapa Mojela died during the incident in September 2023.

Hector's widower, Commander Romero Hector, said he was consulting his lawyers to lodge a civil suit against the SA Navy and the Department of Defence in the next two weeks.

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Hector said he had enough evidence for a successful case against the SA Navy after being granted access to a classified report.

The report suggests the SA Navy and the captain on duty were guilty of possible negligence.

"The submarine was never cleared or authorised to do a vertical lift exercise in the first place."

Hector said he would also be assisting the Hawks with a culpable homicide case against the captain.

"My plight from the start has always been this was not an accident, this could have been prevented and the people responsible to be held accountable."

The SA Navy has indicated it will cooperate with any legal processes related to the incident.