South Africa did not supply weapons to Russia: Independent panel

JOHANNESBURG

An independent inquiry probing allegations that South Africa supplied weapons to Russia has found no supporting evidence, the presidency said Sunday.

“The panel found that there was no evidence to support the claim that a ship transported weapons from South Africa destined for Russia,” a statement from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said.

The US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, told reporters in May that his country was convinced that South Africa had supplied arms to the Russian military despite the country claiming to be neutral.

"Among the things we noted was the docking of the (Russian) cargo ship in the Simon's Town naval base between Dec. 6 and 8, 2022, which we are confident uploaded weapons and ammunition…as it made its way back to Russia," said Brigety.

Following the allegations, Ramaphosa established an independent inquiry led by a retired judge to probe the claim.

“The panel established that the ship (Lady R) docked at Simon’s Town to deliver equipment that had been ordered for the South African National Defense Force in 2018 by Armscor, the country’s arms procurement company,” the statement added.

The panel also said that “in terms of the contract for the supply of the arms, neither Armscor nor the South African National Defense Force had any control over the means through which the supplier of the ordered equipment would transport it to South Africa.”

The presidency said the allegations leveled against South Africa had a damaging effect on its currency, economy and world standing.

“South Africa 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,” it said.

The three-man panel was chaired by retired Judge Phineas Mojapelo and included advocate Leah Gcabashe SC and retired politician Enver Surty.

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said in mid-May that Ambassador Brigety had apologized to the government and people of South Africa for his comments about a Russian ship loading weapons and ammunition from South Africa.