South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says there is no evidence the country supplied arms to Russia for its war in the Ukraine.
Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Sunday night about the outcomes of last month’s 15th BRICS Summit.
During the address, Ramaphosa emphasised South Africa’s non-aligned stance on the war.
‘Many failed to make submissions’
Last May, US Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety accused the government of supplying weapons to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Brigety said the country provided ammunition to its BRICS partner through a Russian ship (Lady R) that docked at Simon’s Town naval base in Cape Town in December last year.
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The government had repeatedly denied these allegations, and eventually, Ramaphosa established a three-member panel to investigate the claims.
Judge Phineas Mojapelo chaired the panel, and other members were Advocate Leah Gcabashe SC and Enver Surty.
Lady R panel findings
The panel visited the Simonstown naval base and obtained evidence from nearly 50 people, comprising more than 100 documents.
“Several entities and persons that had publicly claimed to have information on this matter were invited to make submissions to the panel. Many of those invited either failed to do so or said they had no independent knowledge of the relevant facts,” said Ramaphosa.
Instead, the panel found that while Lady R was packing firepower- it was not for Russia.
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The ship docked at Simonstown to deliver equipment that had been ordered for the South African National Defence Force in 2018 by Armscor, the country’s arms procurement company.
“The panel found that there was no evidence to support the claim that the ship transported weapons from South Africa destined for Russia.”
Ramaphosa emphasised the allegations from the US ambassador had a “damaging effect on the currency, economy and our standing in the world.
“It tarnished our image,” said Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa said the report and its findings would not be released publicly.
