Final Lady R report to dock at president’s desk on Friday

President Cyril Ramaphosa will decide on what action to take after receiving the final Lady R independent panel report on Friday.

An independent three-member panel, led by retired Judge Phineas Mojapelo, was tasked by Ramaphosa to investigate allegations South Africa sent weapons to Russia via Lady R, the Russian cargo vessel that docked at Simon’s Town naval base on 9 December 2022.

The panel started its investigation on 6 June.

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Lady R inquiry

Following the president’s announcement of the inquiry in May, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni denied there had been any government-authorised sales of weapons to Russia.

“There is no official authorisation for weapons to be sold to Russia and Ukraine. Whether weapons were loaded or not; that’s another matter. There is no authorisation and if the weapons were loaded in the vessel, the inquiry will determine that,” she said in an interview with Radio 702.

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Ramaphosa set to receive Lady R report on Friday

At a media briefing on Thursday, presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya announced the long-awaited confidential report had been completed. He indicated certain aspects of the investigation report would be made public.

“The panel concluded its investigation, there was a submission that arrived late which caused a minor delay for the panel. The chair of the panel did not request a deadline extension.

“By the end of business tomorrow [Friday] the report will be completed and will be ready for handover to the president as soon as his schedule permits.

“Once the president has consumed the report, he will then decide on the actions to be followed, as guided by the report and on the aspects of the report that will be made public,” Magwenya concluded.

Ramaphosa previously gave the inquiry into the highly controversial Lady R scandal six weeks to conclude its investigation.

Ripple effect of allegations by US ambassador

The investigation report follows claims made by US Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety the Lady R had loaded arms from South Africa onto the US-sanctioned Russian vessel.

Brigety’s accusation that South Africa was supplying weapons to Russia caused some stormy waters for the government to navigate in the interest of South Africa’s relations with the United States.

Brigety later reflected on his utterances, following a meeting with the International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor.

I was grateful for the opportunity to speak with Foreign Minister Pandor this evening and correct any misimpressions left by my public remarks. In our conversation, I re-affirmed the strong partnership between our two countries & the important agenda our Presidents have given us.

— Ambassador Reuben Brigety (@USAmbRSA) May 12, 2023

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Offloading cargo at night during load shedding

Adding fuel to speculation around the Russian Federation-flagged cargo vessel’s presence in South Africa, and specifically the home port of the SA Navy fleet, was her taking on and apparently offloading cargo at night during load shedding.

“Whether this was planned or thanks to Eskom, we’ll probably never know,” a navy pensioner told defenceWeb at the time.

Lady R ‘should have docked at Table Bay harbour’ − DA

Democratic Alliance (DA) shadow defence and military veterans minister Kobus Marais initiated a Promotion of Access to Information Act request for the Lady R’s cargo manifest when news of its mysterious docking surfaced in December last year.

In a statement, Marais claimed that the vessel should have docked at Table Bay harbour like other commercial vessels.

“Evidence suggests over the past two nights there was unusual activity in the harbour with ship-mounted cranes offloading cargo from the Russian commercial vessel onto trucks. There was also truck movement transporting containers in and out of the naval base.

“The trucks were protected by armed personnel. While trucks transporting containers are not uncommon it is unusual for such activities to take place at night.”

In a written reply to Marais, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise described the incoming shipment “an old, outstanding order for ammunition used by the Special Forces”.

Her response reads: “As stated in many previous public statements, I reiterate nothing was loaded onto Lady R, but rather Lady R was delivering equipment ordered by the SANDF [SA National Defence Force] pre-Covid in 2018-19.

“When the pandemic struck things came to a standstill. Thus, the delay delivery of the equipment. We want to reiterate the order for such a delivery stands and there was no export of anything from our entities through Lady R.”

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