South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a panel to investigate U.S. allegations that a Russian ship had collected weapons from a naval base near Cape Town last year, the presidency said in a statement on Sunday.
The U.S. ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, said on May 11 that he was confident that a Russian ship, which docked at a naval base in Simonstown in the Western Cape in December last year, took aboard weapons from South Africa, an allegation South Africa has since denied.
The allegations have caused a diplomatic row among the U.S., South Africa and Russia and called into question South Africa’s non-aligned position on the Ukraine conflict.
South Africa says it is impartial and has abstained from voting on U.N. resolutions on the war.
“The President decided to establish the enquiry because of the seriousness of the allegations, the extent of public interest and the impact of this matter on South Africa’s international relations,” said the statement.
The three-member panel will be chaired by Phineas Mojapelo, former deputy judge president of Gauteng province. The other two members are Advocate Leah Gcabashe, who was evidence leader for a state corruption inquiry that ended last year, and Enver Surty, former deputy minister of basic education. It will have six weeks to conduct its investigation.
The terms of reference for the panel include establishing who was aware of the cargo ship’s arrival, the contents that were loaded and off-loaded and “whether constitutional, legal or other obligations were complied with in relation to the cargo ship’s arrival.”
Presidency Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the inquiry seeks to establish what really transpired that led to the docking of the ship and the alleged loading of cargo and its departure from Simonstown in December 2022.
“The President decided to establish the enquiry because of the seriousness of the allegations, the extent of public interest and the impact of this matter on South Africa’s international relations.”
Magwenya said the panel has been tasked to establish persons who were aware of the cargo ship’s arrival, and, if any, the contents to be off-loaded or loaded, the departure and destination of the cargo,
“Furthermore, the panel will evaluate whether constitutional, legal or other obligations were complied with in relation to the cargo ship’s arrival, its stay, the loading or off-loading of its contents, and its departure.
“The panel’s report will include recommendations on any steps that may need to be taken in light of their findings or as a result of any breaches that may have occurred.”
The president is expected to receive a final report within two weeks of the investigation concluding. Additional reporting NBC
