Mthembu said this was part of government's reason for dispatching leaders of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African Police Force to Mozambique to meet with their counterparts to discuss the incident.

"We would like to continue to have the wonderful relations we have with Mozambique. They are our neighbour and we enjoy wonderful political and social, including economic, relations with Mozambique. We wouldn't like anything to come in the way of this wonderful relationship we enjoy with Mozambique," he said a briefing on Cabinet's regular fortnightly meeting.

"That is why as Cabinet we have agreed that this matter needs to properly investigated so that the outcomes of the investigation will then be told to both our countries and we will await those outcomes."

The Mozambican officials died in a shootout with South African soldiers on the border near Ndumo, KwaZulu-Natal, last week.

According to the SANDF, the South African soldiers were conducting a routine border patrol at the time.

The army were not able to disclose yet whether the shooting happened on South African or Mozambican soil.

Mthembu described those dispatched to Mozambique for talks on the matter as "a well-experienced team with the necessary leadership capacities". 

ANA