Questions have been raised on whether the panel will conclude its work before South Africa hosts the BRICS summit in August, with Russian President Vladimir Putin having accepted an in-person invite to the gathering.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a three-member independent panel to investigate the circumstances around the docking of the Russian vessel known as “Lady R” in Simon’s Town in December last year.
This comes after US Ambassador Reuben Brigety publicly announced that he had evidence that South Africa had sold arms and ammunition to Russia when the Lady R docked.
On Sunday, Ramaphosa announced that the panel would include Judge Phineas Mojapelo as chairperson, advocate Leah Gcabashe and Enver Surty.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the panel would finalise its investigation within six weeks of its appointment and would be expected to submit its report to the president within two weeks of concluding its work.
“The panel may request an extension of this time frame should it be necessary,” Magwenya said.
This has raised questions on whether the panel will conclude its work before South Africa hosts the BRICS summit in August, with Russian President Vladimir Putin having accepted an in-person invite to the gathering.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has yet to make a decision on what to do about the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant of arrest issued for Putin ahead of his expected visit to the country.
The ICC, of which South Africa is a full member, issued a warrant of arrest against Putin for alleged war crimes related to the abduction of children from Ukraine.
Magwenya said Ramaphosa decided to establish the inquiry because of the seriousness of the allegations, the public interest and the impact of this matter on South Africa’s international relations.
“The panel has been tasked to establish the persons who were aware of the cargo ship’s arrival, if any, the contents to be off-loaded or loaded, and the departure and destination of the cargo. Furthermore, the panel will evaluate whether constitutional, legal or other obligations were complied with,” Magwenya said.
DA MP Kobus Marais said the party welcomed the decision to appoint an independent panel. However, it was worrying that the investigation would last six weeks with an option to apply for an extension if necessary, he said.
“We believe the investigation must reveal why the government did not respond in time to the advance warning by the US about the visit of the Lady R, although the ship was never supposed to dock at a South African port.”
He said answers were also needed on what the role of Dirco was since the US ambassador said South Africa was informed on a diplomatic level before Lady R’s arrival in South Africa.
International relations expert Dr Noluthando Phungula, of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, questioned the need to establish a panel if the government was confident that nothing was loaded on the ship.
“On the part of the US intelligence services, they should first produce the evidence that is in their possession, and then a panel would make sense.”
She said, that in her opinion, the panel was “unnecessary and a waste of state resources”.
