‘Brigety retains full support of Biden, despite Lady R Report’, says US

The United States (US) Embassy in South Africa has told The Citizen that ambassador Reuben Brigety retains the full faith and confidence of President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.

This comes after President Cyril Ramaphosa told the nation in a televised address on Sunday night that while a shipment of ammunition was offloaded from the Russian ship, Lady R, no arms were loaded back on it before its departure.

Brigety in May claimed that South Africa supplied Russia with arms, which he said were loaded on the Russian vessel.

Lady R Report noted

David  Feldmann, Mission Spokesperson at US Embassy Pretoria said they had taken note of the Lady R Report.

“We appreciate the seriousness with which the panel of inquiry undertook to investigate Lady R’s presence in South Africa in December 2022.  We will let South Africa speak for its panel’s conclusion.

“We appreciate President Ramaphosa’s commitment to investigating this serious matter and look forward to advancing progress with our South African partners on our shared priorities, including trade, health, and climate,” Feldmann said.

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No action against Brigety

Asked whether Brigety would be recalled or any action would be taken against him,  Feldmann said Brigety would remain the US ambassador to South Africa.

“Ambassador Brigety is the personal representative of President Biden in South Africa.  Ambassador Brigety retains the full faith and confidence of President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken.  As President Biden’s personal representative to the Republic of South Africa, Ambassador Brigety remains focused on energetically advancing the relationship.”

The US embassy also said the US Government shared certain information pertaining to Lady R and its presence in South Africa in support of the investigation.

Lady R

The docking of Lady R cargo ship became the subject of controversy in recent months, with allegations surfacing that South Africa was supplying weapons to Russia amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Ramaphosa said the full findings of the report would remain classified to protect national security interests.

“In deciding not to release the report, I have taken account of the laws that both mandate openness and transparency and require that certain information that may be prejudicial to the defence and security of the Republic be kept classified and confidential.”

Ramaphosa added that revealing the details of the report could compromise national security and endanger the lives of South African soldiers deployed in various operations across the African continent.

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