The inquiry into whether President Cyril Ramaphosa’s instructions regarding Iran’s participation in the Will for Peace naval exercise were disobeyed is now falling under the Presidency.
In a statement on Thursday evening, the Presidency announced a probe into the exercise using the investigative panel that was originally due to be part of the military Board of Inquiry (BoI). It will be led by Chairperson Justice Bernard Ngoepe, who will be assisted by Justice Kathy Satchwell, Justice Mashangu Leeuw and retired Rear Admiral (JG) Patrick Duze. The Panel will report directly to the President.
The Minister of Defence originally appointed these members as part of the Board of Inquiry, but the Defence Act requires the members to be serving in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), which they do not.
“The relocation of the inquiry from the Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans to the Presidency is to ensure an independent and timeous probe. The President is, in terms of section 202(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, the Commander-in-Chief of the South African National Defence Force,” the Presidency statement said.
“The instituting of the panel relates to the failure to heed the instruction by the President that the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran must no longer participate in the Chinese-led Exercise Will of Peace 2026 that took place in South African waters,” the Presidency continued.
The Panel will investigate and make recommendations in relation to the circumstances surrounding the exercise, the factors that may have contributed to the failure to observe the President’s order, person or person’s responsible and the consequences to follow.
The Panel will have the power to summon members of the defence force and/or public service, and to request for all documents, including classified documents, to fulfil its mandate.
Ramaphosa has directed that the Panel must finish its work and report to the President within one calendar month of its establishment.
The President may, on compelling cause shown, extend the period of the Panel’s proceedings. Due to national security considerations the work of the Panel will be confidential, the Presidency noted.
“President Ramaphosa may on the recommendation of the Panel and the Minister decide to publicise or not to publicise all or any portion of the outcomes of the Panel’s investigation,” the Presidency statement concluded.
