The judgment in the ongoing case against the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) will not stop the force from disciplining soldiers, the Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans said on Tuesday.

"The court judgment will not stop the disciplining of soldiers by the SANDF," spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya said in a statement.

Mabaya was responding to media reports quoting a statement by South African National Defence Union (Sandu), which suggested that "soldiers will know next week if they would be disciplined by the SANDF".

"We would like to clarify that the case before the high court has nothing to do with the disciplining of soldiers who participated in an illegal strike which turned violence on August 26, 2009, but the fairness of the process," he said.

The responsibility to discipline soldiers rested with the chief of the SANDF and it was not being contested before the court, Mabaya said.

A case before the High Court in Pretoria is arguing that some 1 200 soldiers who participated in the illegal strike were unfairly dismissed.

In court on Monday, Paul Kennedy SC, for Sandu, conceded that the SANDF had a right and the power to dismiss the union's members, but said that the issue before court was whether the procedure for their provisional dismissal was lawful and fair.

He said that the letters of dismissal, which were approved by the Chief of the Defence Force, General Godfrey Ngwenya, had made "adverse and devastating findings" against the soldiers.

These included that they had acted disobediently, attended an illegal march and posed a threat to national security.

It also made findings that the protesters had been armed, became violent, disobeyed police orders, were guilty of mutiny and had scandalised the nation and the SANDF.

Kennedy said that these were not allegations, but findings and were made without giving any of the soldiers involved a chance to state their case first.

The soldiers were issued with notices in August last year, giving them ten days to provide reasons why their services should not be terminated.

The SANDF thereafter undertook not to dismiss them, pending the outcome of the court application by Sandu.

"The matter before the court is whether the notice issued by the SANDF is fair or unfair. SANDU argues that the notice is not fair but in their submission and papers before court they admit that the strike was a threat to national security and the SANDF is entitled to discipline the soldiers.

"We are convinced that following the events at the Union Building and the violence that followed and the threat to national security we acted in a responsible and fair manner to ensure that the SANDF is a disciplined force as required by the Constitution and the Defence Act," Mabaya said.

He said that the department was waiting for judgment and would take into consideration the comments of the court and proceed to finalise the disciplinary process.

"At the conclusion of this case we will also find time to sue SANDU for the damage to state property on the day of the strike. Whatever is the outcome of the case, the disciplinary process will continue taking into consideration the court judgment."

Mabaya said that over 1 000 soldiers had responded to the notice that SANDU was challenging in court and had made their representation.

"Their representations have been processed by the SANDF and some have been recalled back to the SANDF.

"It must be stated again that the court is not discussing whether the Chief of the SANDF can discipline soldiers but whether the process is fair."

Mabaya said that in the next financial year. his department's priority would be to finalise the legislative process to remove unions in the SANDF.

"We are more than convinced that all the unions in the SANDF have no respect for national security, their interest is collecting monthly affiliation funds from the poor soldiers who now face losing their place in the SANDF."