Stunned South Africa reacts to US claim it supplied arms to Russia

An apparently embarrassed South African government said on Friday it will summon and reprimand the United States ambassador to the country after the diplomat accused SA of supplying weapons to Russia to aid its war in Ukraine.

Reuben Brigety told local media on Thursday that the South African government delivered arms and ammunition to a sanctioned Russian cargo vessel called Lady R late last year.

“Among the things we noted was the docking of the cargo ship in Simon’s Town naval base between the 6th to the 8th of December 2022, which we are confident uploaded weapons and ammunition onto that vessel in Simon’s Town as it made its way back to Russian,” the ambassador said.

“We are confident that weapons were loaded onto that vessel, and I would bet my life on the accuracy on that assertion.

“The arming of the Russians is extremely serious, and we do not consider this issue to be resolved, and we would like SA to [begin] practicing its non-alignment policy.”

The South African presidency said the US had provided no evidence to support the allegation and that the government planned to form an independent inquiry into the matter.

It called the explosive allegations “disappointing” and warned that the remarks “undermine the spirit of cooperation and partnership” between the two countries.

The case is fast degenerating into a political scandal.

– Lady R

The presence of the Lady R cargo vessel caused quite a stir when it docked at South Africa’s naval base near Cape Town. Cargo vessels mostly dock at Cape Town’s civilian harbor, not the naval base.

At the time, opposition member of parliament and shadow Defense Minister Kobus Marais said goods were onloaded onto the ship in the night and demanded answers from the government.

The South African government has come under intense criticism for its stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has routinely abstained from votes condemning Russia at the United Nations General Assembly.

In February of this year, South Africa convened naval war games off its coast including both the Russian and Chinese military.

Later this year, South Africa will host the BRICS summit, a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the summit.

Last month, South Africa said it would leave the Rome Statute which forms the ICC. The treaty compels signatory nations to arrest individuals indicted by the court. Mr Putin was indicted for alleged war crimes in March.

The country later backtracked. South Africa’s ruling African National Congress has an ideological history with Russia and the former Soviet Union, but the U.S. and European Union are its big trading partners.

– Ambassador summoned

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) on Friday announced that it will reprimand the US ambassador, not for the making the allegation, but for not following proper diplomatic channels to express his country’s concerns, local news platform News24 reported.

Separately, Minister of Communications Mondli Gungubele, who chairs the National Conventional Arms Control Committee, told local radio 702 that South Africa “didn’t approve any arms to Russia”.

Gungubele said that if weapons were loaded onto a vessel bound for Russia from South Africa, that was illegal and inappropriate, Reuters reported.

The leader of the opposition Economic and Financial Fighters, Julius Malema, criticised the United States for making “unfounded” claims.

“We will not be dictated to by USA in terms of who becomes our friends. But I do not think there should be anything that we should be worried about, there is no one with such capacity in South Africa who can supply Russian with weapons. If anything, it is the other way round,” he was quoted by NEWS24 as saying.

He said: “America is just becoming a crybaby trying to find a way into punishing South Africa because of our position on the Russia-Ukraine war.”

He also claimed this was a way by America to put pressure on South Africa ahead of the BRICS summit, amid calls for the arrest of Mr Putin.

“They want us not to allow President Putin to come and now they are spreading false alarms and propaganda as an attempt to put pressure on South Africa. We call on our government not to surrender to that pressure,” said Mr Malema.

– Inquiry

The United States has welcomed South Africa’s pledge to probe the allegation, with State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel saying “It certainly would be a welcome step”.

But some have criticized the plan.

“Why do we need a judicial inquiry chaired by a retired judge to tell us the answer to a simple question government can answer? It’s one call to Minister Thandi Modise or General Rudzani Maphwanya to find out. Did we ship armaments to Putin? Yes or no?,” one commenter said, according to NEWS24.

“If anything, this response adds veracity to the US ambassador’s claims. If we did not sell weapons to Russia via a secret deal late at night in Simon’s Town, government would have told us so by now.

“A commission of inquiry will take at least six months to a year to complete. A long night awaits.”

CNN asked presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya why an inquiry was needed.

“US intelligence services said they had evidence that they would only provide to us via a credible investigation or inquiry. We take the allegations seriously, and we want to have a credible independent voice to state the actual facts of the matter,” he said.

“Otherwise, we risk a back forth series of accusations and denials, which is not going to be helpful in the context of our bilateral relations.”