Dhe US diplomat chose drastic words to back up his serious allegations. Reuben Brigety, the US ambassador to South Africa, told reporters that he would “bet his life” that South Africa had supplied arms and ammunition to Russia. He had been asked for his assessment of the validity of the relevant information, which he said was available to American intelligence.
South Africa is officially listed as a “strategic partner” by Washington. But the accusation has explosive power for the already tense relations between the two countries. And it is likely to trigger shock waves in African countries, whose governments abstained by around half in UN General Assembly votes on Russia. In February, when it came to the demand for a Russian troop withdrawal, there were 14. Eritrea and Mali even voted against.
South Africa has now left neutral territory. At least that is how Ambassador Brigety is to be understood, although he does not offer any evidence for his serious allegations. Specifically, it is about an incident in December 2022, when the Russian cargo ship “Lady R” docked in the military port of Simon’s Town near Cape Town in the evening, and goods were still being unloaded that night.
Even then, there was great outrage in the West because the “Lady R” was sanctioned by the USA and there was no reason why she was allowed to dock at the South African Navy’s largest base.
Weeks later, Defense Secretary Thandi Modise vaguely said it was an “old arms shipment.” To South Africa, mind you, there was no talk of a load of South African weapons or ammunition. The order was also placed long before the Ukraine war.
Before the “Lady R”, South Africa had already allowed the superyacht of the Kremlin-affiliated oligarch Alexei Mordashov to dock in Cape Town – although the multi-billionaire is also on the US sanctions list. Ultimately, Mordashov did not head for South Africa. Then in February there was a ten-day military exercise with Russia off the coast of Durban, coinciding with the first anniversary of the Ukraine invasion.
Weapons transporter allegedly brought “diplomatic mail”
It then became completely absurd in April when a Russian military aircraft of the type Ilyushin Il-76, which Washington had also put on its sanctions list for transporting weapons, was allowed to land at the military base in Pretoria. Pretoria tried to reassure its western partners that it was a delivery of “diplomatic mail” – with little success.
A few days later, a high-ranking government delegation left for Washington, including Sydney Mufamadi, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s national security adviser. Their task: downplaying the Russian influence in South Africa. One is neutral, according to the official narrative.
The country defends the military exercise with Russia, pointing out that a military exercise was also held with the USA last year. And, according to the instruction to the delegation: prevent the resolution introduced by the Republicans in the Senate, which provides for an end to the duty exemption for most South African products, from being successful. The free trade agreement AGOA expires in 2025.
The mission failed miserably. While Mufamadi was still on the plane, Brigety went before the press with his allegations. After he landed, Mufamadi complained that it had been agreed to work through the process after the exchange of secret service information, and that the Americans were now using “megaphone diplomacy” instead. Ambassador Brigety was summoned by the South African Foreign Ministry.
The reason for Brigety’s actions is obvious. On Thursday evening, Ramaphosa was supposed to answer the opposition’s simple question as to whether there were arms exports. In a functioning state, the answer can only be “yes” or “no”, after all they have to be approved by the NCACC, the Committee responsible for arms exports.
And in a functioning state, it would also be unimaginable that a decision of this geopolitical dimension would be made without the president’s approval – after all, one would join outlaw states that are alleged to be supplying weapons to Putin: Iran, Belarus, North Korea. An accusation that requires a clear answer.
concealment instead of enlightenment
Instead, Ramaphosa responded with a cover-up tactic that the ruling party is using to iron out pretty much all the scandals: an investigation “chaired by a retired judge” would be launched, he announced.
Experience has shown that this takes time in South Africa. Sometimes years. On Friday, however, the NCACC chairman Mondli Gungubele reacted. He told radio station 702 that “no weapons were granted to Russia.” If there was a corresponding loading of the freighter, it was illegal.
Hanns Bühler, office manager of the CSU-affiliated Hanns Seidel Foundation in southern Africa, has been analyzing the growing Kremlin influence in South Africa for years – and he is not surprised by the development. “The closeness of the ANC and its government to Russia has become increasingly clear in recent months,” says Bühler.
The chain of evidence is long: pro-Russian press releases by the ANC, representatives of the ANC youth organization sent as observers to the illegal referendums in eastern Ukraine, through to the acceptance of party donations by Russian oligarchs. “The neutrality that the South African government likes to emphasize doesn’t fit in at all with their actions,” states Bühler.
The action taken by South Africa, which sees itself as the spokesman in Africa, is in fact neither in line with its constitution nor with economic interests. The rand slipped to a record low on Thursday.
China is the largest bilateral trading partner, but the export volume to the Far East is only slightly higher than that to the USA, and countries such as Germany, Japan and England are not far behind. As a confederation of states, the European Union is the most important trading partner, ahead of China. Russia does not appear in the top 15.
In addition, South Africa exports considerably more to the USA than it imports from there – the reverse is the case with China. Cheap imports have suffocated industries like textiles, which were once job engines. The labour-intensive processing industry, including German car companies, also produces in South Africa because of the duty-free market access to the USA.
The timing of the scandal could not have been much more explosive. South Africa currently chairs the BRICS group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The annual meeting will take place in Durban in August. On the guest list: Vladimir Putin.
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for him and South Africa, as a signatory to the Rome Statute, would be obliged to arrest him. An unimaginable scenario.
A virtual summit participation by Putin would be conceivable as an emergency solution. But if he insists on a personal appearance and can then travel in and out of the country unmolested, the next level of escalation in relations with the West would have been reached.