President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver a keynote address at the Armed Forces Day celebrations at the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town today.
He will also lay a wreath at the Mendi Memorial and observe a flypast by the South African Air Force.
Armed Forces Day 2021 | 21 February.#sandf #SANDF #ArmedForces2021 pic.twitter.com/CBya1sIcsE
— SA National Defence Force (@SANDF_ZA) February 20, 2021
The celebrations are usually held on this date to commemorate the sinking of the SS Mendi Memorial and also to observe a fly-past by the South African Air Force before the keynote address.
“The Sinking of the SS Mendi is deemed one of South Africa’s worst tragedies of the First World War (1914-1918). A total of 616 black South African troops died when the SS Mendi steamship sank on its way to France,” reads a statement from the Presidency.
Below is an infographic highlighting the event:
Additional reporting by Lulama Mafubedu.
