Nary a day goes by where the African National Congress, Africa’s oldest and most corrupt liberation movement, isn’t embroiled in one scandal or another. The latest smirch involves its possible, or likely – almost certain – involvement in sending arms to Russia in December 2022 to further its attack on Ukraine.
On the 11th of May 2023, the United States’ ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety broke the news that we sent weapons via the Lady R ship to Russia in order to advance their war against Ukraine. During the press conference Brigety went on to add he was so certain of this fact that he could bet his life on it; a hell of a wager to make if one isn’t confident.
Several days after the press conference there appears to be confusion about whether Brigety apologized for the manner in which the news was broken or whether the U.S. ambassador was apologizing for an erroneous statement inculpating South Africa in providing arms to despot Russia.
Doing what the ANC does best, it has ostensibly lied and denied the allegations. To ascertain whether South Africa could indeed have supplied Russia with weapons, perhaps it may help if we look at the ANC’s past behaviour and relationships it has with countries and people of questionable morality. After all the past is the best predictor of future behaviour.
Throughout the life of Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe, he was rightfully treated like a social pariah. One country mad Bob could always count on, despite mounting international pressure from every corner of the world, was South Africa. Not Mbeki’s finest moment and one that’ll certainly outlive him, I recall our dear Thabo holding hands with that loathsome cockalorum.
How can we forget about the time in 2015 when the Sudanese war criminal Omar Al Bashir visited us in South Africa and was allowed to leave in spite of the International Criminals Court reminding us, we were dutybound to arrest the fugitive? If Omar Al Bashir’s crimes elude you, he is responsible for the deaths of over four hundred thousand people and counting.
Last year in 2022, the African National Congress gave a rather generous sum of money to another communist nest run by Cuban dictator Miguel Mario Diaz and will likely do so again when they next come groveling with their begging bowl. Let there be no question about the sort of people around which the ruling party likes to hang. They are undoubtedly the skunks of the world.
The ANC has been caught in yet another lie. They are on record claiming impartiality in the Russian and Ukrainian conflict. Only that isn’t true because the ANC has a long and rather cozy relationship with Russia, predating South Africa becoming a democracy. Further evidence of the ANC’s support of Russia is our country wanting to withdraw from the ICC ahead of Putin’s scheduled visit in August this year, so that the government will not be forced to arrest him.
In the ANC there seems to be no sense of urgency to uncover what was loaded on the Lady R vessel, even though it would benefit the ruling party to prove their innocence. Also, it does not appear likely that the United States will sanction us either. Of course, that all could still change. One possible manner in which the United States may punish us is through AGOA.
AGOA, as it turns out, is actually for countries that are less developed than South Africa. Therefore, it is through America displaying generosity and not necessity that we are allowed to partake in it. Included in the AGOA treaty is a clause dissolving the agreement if anyone acts against the national security interest of the United States. Based on that alone America should kick us out of AGOA and need only point to the clause to remind us why.
One would imagine this would be a priority for the ANC considering all the country stands to lose. Instead, however, it is treated with the same insouciance as everything else. In December when the ship docked at Simon’s Town, the defence minister Thandi Modise promised to look into the matter. Here we are six months later, and we’ve still not heard anything. At the rate Modise gets things done it’s a small wonder the pigs on her farm were dying of hunger and turned cannibal to survive.
Whatever punishment America settles on for us, it had better arrive at that decision promptly. Our economy is ailing, and the rand has been in freefall the last few days, and let’s not even get on to the electricity crisis that seems to be worsening every day. At the rate we’re going, soon there might not be a South Africa left to punish.
I’ve been following your blog for some time now, and I’m consistently blown away by the quality of your content. Your ability to tackle complex topics with ease is truly admirable.