‘There’ll always be anarchists like Steenhuisen’ with arms row – Mbalula

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says the government, the president and the ANC would act against anyone found to have sold arms to Russia.

Mbalula was speaking following the top seven and national working committee’s visit to North West province.

President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed a three-member panel following allegations that arms were loaded into a Russian vessel called Lady R in December last year.

The panel, headed by retired Judge Phineas Mojapelo, has been given six weeks to investigate and make recommendations on allegations pertaining to Lady R, which docked in Simon’s Town in December.

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Speaking to BBC Journalist Stephen Sackur, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen said he believed South Africa had been supplying arms to Russia. Steenhuisen has also previously accused SA of being complicit in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Mbalula said there would always be anarchists like Steenhuisen who believed SA sold arms to Russia.

“Steenhuisen says he believes what he saw when he went to Ukraine was arms from South Africa.

“He said he saw it for himself, so what should we do?

“The president established a commission of inquiry led by a retired judge to investigate those allegations,” Mbalula said. “If the president didn’t do anything about that and simply said there are no arms, it would remain with us forever.

“Others are simplifying it and saying the president should have just gone and checked the slips.

“We are running a country, not a banana republic. We are being accused here by John Steenhuisen. Leave the US ambassador, we understand US people now.”

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Mbalula said the president probably has a report on his table from the minister of defence, defence intelligence and other intelligence agencies saying the allegations that SA sold arms to Russia are not true.

He accused the US of making wild allegations which sometimes left the country scrambling.

“They can wake up tomorrow and say there is going to be a big war in South Africa. They make these allegations from time to time. They are dangerous because they started this thing that we are giving arms to Russia,” Mbalula said.

“We are trying to play a role there, we know the impact of that war on developing countries and it has affected us negatively and we must deal with that war.

“We have made our position clear that we are not interested in promoting war and therefore we cannot have an allegation hanging on us that we gave arms to one party in the war.”

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Mbalula said the DA wanted to gain power at all costs even if it meant destroying SA.

“They don’t care about South Africa as a country.

“As long as this thing will bring the ANC down, they don’t care,” he said.

He said if anyone was found to have sold arms to Russia, there would be consequences.

“There will be no question about it.

“It’s a criminal act and the government will act on that and the president will act and the ANC will support that particular act.”