Briefing the National Assembly's joint standing committee on defence on the deployment of SA troops in the CAR following the killing last month of 13 South African soldiers, Mapisa-Nqakula said about 200 additional troops deployed earlier this year to CAR had been tasked with protecting SA defence equipment and the 26 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) trainers that were already stationed there.
She said the provision by the SANDF of VIP protection hadn't formed part of the 2007 memorandum of understanding, but had emerged outside of it.
While the SA troops had initially provided protection to Bozizé, under Operation Morero, this was withdrawn a year later in 2008 after training was provided to CAR soldiers to allow them to carry out such protection.
"In terms of the new MoU, which I personally signed in December (last year), there is no provision for protection or security for VIPs of the Central African Republic," said Mapisa-Nqakula.
She said the task assigned to the additional two troop contingents sent to CAR, following the renewal of the MoU, had been to protect the SANDF trainers and SA assets - such as equipment and the army's 27 vehicles deployed there, particularly as these could not be hastily withdrawn and could not fall into rebels' hands, which could be used against civilians.
Mapisa-Nqakula said when she took over as Minister of Defence in July, the CAR was pushing for the renewal of the capacity-building agreement.
However, she said at the time she was unsure because reports showed that the number of soldiers being trained by the SANDF force there had been in decline over the years, while there was no certainty about where those trained were landing up.
However, she said after a long period of negotiations, the SA government made a decision to renew the agreement.
"This was partly because there was a view among government officials in that country (CAR) that amongst others, our task was to protect the leadership of the country," she said.
Responding to the reports that the bodies of many of the 13 SA soldiers killed in CAR were found outside the SANDF base where they were stationed, Mapisa-Nqakula explained that this was because these troops had formed defensive lines outside the base in a bid to protect SA assets.
When the rebels attacked, they succeeded in cutting these SA soldiers off from the base, she said.
"We are very proud, that in spite of the casualties that were inflicted upon us as a country, that these young men could actually fight the rebels and make sure they do not lay their hands on our arms or ammunition equipment," said Mapisa-Nqakula, who pointed out that these could have been used against civilians.
Referring to a photograph of SA army Toyota pick-up trucks with Seleka rebels, which appeared earlier this week in The Times newspaper, she said a number of such vehicles had been given to CAR army and that these had not been stolen from the SANDF base, as the base was not infiltrated.
She said a Seleka rebel general had shown SANDF personnel where some of the SA soldiers' bodies lay.
This, she said, was evidence that the rebels hadn't targeted the SA soldiers, but had attacked them because the SANDF base - an old police college situated between the city of Bangui and the airport - had stood in the way of the rebel's advance on the presidential palace.
The minister said the SANDF had never expected that they would be a target of the rebels.
She cautioned that South Africans should not make unsubstantiated rumours that could be insensitive to the 13 SANDF soldiers that were killed or which could instigate events that might jeopardise the security of those SA soldiers still in CAR.
On Wednesday, President Jacob Zuma, in a meeting with regional African leaders on CAR, announced that he would withdraw troops from CAR.
A debate will be held on April 23 in the National Assembly on South Africa's deployment of troops in CAR, Mapisa-Nqakula said.
Meanwhile, Chief Joint Operations Officer Lieutenant General Derrick Mgwebi, also present at the briefing, said nine of the 27 SA troops injured in CAR, remained in hospital, with one wounded soldier still in a serious condition.
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