SA Want US Ambassador Expelled in Aftermath of Lady R Weapons Saga, Mzansi Backs Govt: “He’s an Embarrassment”

SA Want US Ambassador Expelled in Aftermath of Lady R Weapons Saga, Mzansi Backs Govt: “He’s an Embarrassment”

  • The South African government wants US Ambassador Reuben Brigety’s head In the aftermath of the Lady R allegations
  • Brigety Xhosa diplomatic storm when he unleashed accusations that South Africa had supplied Russia with weapons to use its war on Ukraine
  • The US government would allegedly prefer the ambassador to be recalled rather than putting Brigety through embarrassing expulsion

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PRETORIA - The South African government is gunning for the expulsion of US Ambassador to SA Reuben Brigety after the Lady R report rubbished the allegations that South Africa supplied Russia with arms.

The SA government is pushing Washington to expel US Ambassador Reuben Brigety
The SA government wants US Ambassador Reuben Brigety expelled from his position following the arms deal allegations. Image: Tom Grill/Getty Images & @Africa_Archives/Twitter
Source: Getty Images

The unsubstantiated accusations caused a diplomatic headache for the government and resulted in President Cyril Ramaphosa appointing a three-person panel to investigate the ambassador's allegations, The Guardian reported.

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The report found that arms were not loaded onto Russia's Lady R vessel. Rather food was allegedly onboarded for the cargo ship's trip back to its Eastern European country of origin.

Washington undecided on US ambassador

Now that the controversy has somewhat died down, the government is allegedly aggressively pushing for Brigety to pack his bags and head back to the US.

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While Brigety allegedly issued the allegations without Washington's go-ahead, Mail & Guardian reported that the US prefers the ambassador to be recalled rather than expelled.

Given the upset the allegations caused, South Africans are entirely behind the government's decision to push for the US ambassador’s expulsion.

South Africans back government

Below are some comments:

@lesmorgp said:

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“He must be asked to leave. He’s an embarrassment.”

@Mthunzie_Maps added:

“No other alternative.”

@Tembsmag demanded:

“Send him home immediately!”

@Mndeni361 joked:

“He went rogue. That bow tie is responsible for his error in judgment.”

@KaBediHaiOne claimed:

"Yup. John whispered in his ear at a braai and ran with it."

@MphathiMotha questioned:

“Why is he still here?”

Mzansi amused by “Russian soldier” with Zulu weapons after US ambassador’s accusations against SA

In another story, Briefly News reported that people had jokes following accusations that South Africa sold arms to aid Russia against Ukraine. The public was up arms as people shared their opinions about whether or not it could be true.

Others are convinced that the country does not have the necessary resources to assist Russia, such as the TikTokker who made fun of the accusation. The funny pictures attracted hundreds of comments from many who think South Africa has no arms to trade.

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A post by @ripleyswildride shows a clearly edited picture of a Russian soldier in a run-down city while holding a Zulu shield and spear.

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Source: Briefly News

Authors:
Lerato Mutsila avatar

Lerato Mutsila (Current affairs editor) Lerato Mutsila is a journalist with 3 years of experience. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Pearson Institute of Higher Education in 2020, majoring in broadcast journalism, political science and communication. Lerato joined the Briefly News current affairs desk in August 2022. Mutsila is also a fellow of the 2021/2022 Young African Journalists Acceleration programme, which trained African journalists in climate journalism. You can contact Lerato at lerato.mutsila@breifly.co.za