South African forces suspend Project Kgala after legal objections

The South African Army ordered Project Kgala, a military cooperation program with Cuba, to stop. Navy Lieutenant James Matshimane, a senior South African National Defence Force officer, communicated the instruction to Parliament. The available information says 119 Cuban nationals are in the program. Matshimane said courses already underway may be completed, although he did not specify when the official termination would take effect. The order halts new project activity without immediately canceling training already in progress.

Kgala began in January 2025 and replaced Project Thusano, another military cooperation program between the countries. It employs Cuban engineers and technicians to maintain and repair military vehicles and air and naval transport equipment for South Africa’s armed forces. The decision followed a May audit that questioned the contract’s validity. According to DefenceWeb, a legal opinion from the Office of the Chief State Law Adviser concluded that the agreement violated public procurement rules and was invalid. South Africa’s Auditor-General said the department disbursed 183 million rand that should be declared irregular expenditure. The Defence Department had another 15 million rand under review for possible irregularity.

The concerns add to broader figures: Projects Kgala and Thusano represented more than 1.1 billion rand in public funds over four fiscal years from 2021 through 2025. Kgala alone had accumulated about 279 million rand. Despite the contractual controversy, Cuban technicians performed work for several military branches. From February through September 2025, they recorded 1,198 component repairs for the Army, 194 aviation jobs and work on 224 Air Force vehicles. In the Navy, they repaired 72 components and 124 vehicles; they also worked on 119 Military Health Service vehicles and completed 540 medical work cards. A ministerial response confirmed 119 Cuban participants were in the country. In fiscal year 2024–2025, the country allocated just over 25 million rand for expenses connected with that personnel.