Politics

No evidence South Africa supplied weapons to Russia— Inquiry

Published

1 year ago

September 4, 2023

The South African government has announced that its independent inquiry has found no evidence that it supplied arms to Russia late last year as alleged by the United States through its Ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, in May.

Ambassador Brigety had in May said that the US was sure that contrary to its public claim of being non-aligned in the Russia/Ukraine crisis, South Africa supplied arms to Vladimir Putin’s army. But President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday said internal findings contradicted the US claim.

The U.S. allegations prompted doubts about South Africa’s declared non-alignment and neutrality over Russia’s conflict in Ukraine and triggered worries about potential Western sanctions.

Ramaphosa claimed in a speech to the country that the accusations had a negative impact on South Africa’s economy and its standing internationally.

“The panel found that there was no evidence to support the claim that the ship transported weapons from South Africa destined for Russia,” Ramaphosa said.

“No permit was issued for the export of arms and no arms were exported.”

Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Pretoria expressed its appreciation for the inquiry’s commitment to conducting its investigation into the ship’s stay in South Africa.

The US “will allow South Africa speak for its panel’s judgement,” according to its mission’s spokesperson at the embassy, David Feldmann, without commenting on the results.

South Africa has remained a significant ally of Russia despite strong criticism from the West, especially the US.

Related Topics:Cyril Ramaphosa Featured South Africa

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Politics

Mali: 7 Russian mercenaries killed

Published

3 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

An al Qaeda offshoot in North Africa has claimed responsibility for the attack in central Mali, killing at least seven mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military contractor company.

Wagner earlier lost a battle in July with mostly Tuareg rebels and Islamists close to Mali’s Algerian border, exposing the perils faced by mercenaries used by military juntas in the Sahel area of West Africa.

The separatists and strong branches of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, which have taken over large areas of the Sahel over the past 12 years, are difficult for Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger to control.

The al Qaeda offshoot JNIM claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack, according to a statement from SITE Intelligence Group, which keeps an eye on extremist activity in the area. According to SITE, JNIM captured several weapons and killed seven Russian Wagner mercenaries.

Following an attack, the bodies of at least five white males wearing army fatigues were seen laying near a military truck in a video obtained by Reuters. The validity of the footage could not be confirmed by Reuters.

SITE Intelligence posted images allegedly from JNIM that showed many crates of weapons and ammo together with the dead and bloodied bodies of troops.

Although two local officials acknowledged the incident, a Malian army source claimed to have seen seven dead bodies, including Russian fighters. Five Wagner warriors were slain, according to one of them.

At least six Russians have been murdered in the attack, which was carried out by Katiba Macina, a division of JNIM, according to a consultant working on security in the area.

The expert referred to the Russians as Africa Corps warriors, a paramilitary group under Kremlin leadership that has taken Wagner’s position in Africa throughout the previous 12 months.

Mali has previously said that Russian servicemen trainers are assisting local troops with Russian-purchased weaponry rather than mercenaries.

Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.