The US top diplomat who accused SA of supplying arms to Russia and aiding its war effort with Ukraine has failed to provide Pretoria with evidence to support the claims, which at the time weakened the rand and tarnished SA’s international image, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday.
A panel appointed by Ramaphosa in May to investigate claims that SA supplied arms to Russia found no evidence that any cargo of weapons was loaded for export onto the ship Lady R.
The findings may further place Pretoria under pressure to expel Washington’s ambassador to the country, Reuben Brigety, who triggered a diplomatic storm when he accused SA of supplying Russia with weapons and ammunition when the Lady R docked at the Simon’s Town naval base in 2022.
The accusation prompted a fall in the rand, and has strained relations between Pretoria and Washington.
The incident has led to fears that SA will be excluded from the African Growth & Opportunities Act trade agreement.
Without directly naming the Brigety, Ramaphosa in a televised address on Sunday said some used the allegations to call into question SA’s commitment to its nonaligned stance in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“When all matters are considered, none of the allegations made about the supply of weapons to Russia have been proven to be true, and none of the persons who made these allegations could provide any evidence to support the claims that had been levelled against our country,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa’s three-member independent panel, which was headed by retired judge Phineas Mojapelo, was tasked with establishing who was aware of the cargo ship’s arrival; whether cargo was loaded or offloaded; and evaluate whether constitutional, legal or other obligations were complied with in relation to the cargo ship’s arrival, its stay and eventual departure.
The panel, which received evidence from 50 people and obtained 100 written submissions, found the ship was offloading a 2018 military order from Armscor for the SA National Defence Force.
“SA has clear laws that regulate the issuing of permits regarding the importation and exportation of conventional arms. All relevant permits had been obtained for the importation of the equipment that was delivered by the ship. No permit was issued for the export of arms and no arms were exported,” Ramaphosa said.
“The panel did not find any evidence of criminal conduct by any persons involved.”
The US embassy welcomed the thoroughness of the report.
“The US government shared with the panel certain information pertaining to the Lady R and its presence in SA in support of the investigation,” said David Feldmann, spokesperson for the embassy.
The presidency released only a summary of the report, citing classified military information, Ramaphosa said.
“In deciding not to release the report, I have taken account of the laws that both mandate openness and transparency and require that certain information that may be prejudicial to the defence and security of the republic be kept classified and confidential,” he said.
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