Pretoria denies presidential intervention in High Commission livestream controversy

Detailed summary

Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, has rejected claims by Nigeria’s High Commission in South Africa that ...

Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, has rejected claims by Nigeria’s High Commission in South Africa that the President intervened in the controversy over the omission of Femi Fani-Kayode’s speech from a diplomatic ceremony livestream, describing the mission’s account as a lie.

Magwenya accused the Nigerian mission of lying over its claim that Ramaphosa intervened in the matter, insisting that the South African President neither interfered with nor had the constitutional authority to influence the operational and editorial decisions of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

The latest disagreement followed a response by the Nigerian High Commission to Magwenya’s earlier criticism of Fani-Kayode’s public protest over the omission of his speech during the presentation of his letters of credence to Ramaphosa.

In a statement posted on X on Friday, Magwenya expressed regret that he had to address the Nigerian ambassador through a public platform, accusing him of falsely attributing the intervention to the South African President.

“Your Excellency, I deeply regret that I have to address you through a public platform. However, now that you have falsely referenced the President on a matter he has no involvement in, I’m duty bound to clarify your misrepresentation of facts,” he said.

Magwenya maintained that the South African President did not intervene in the operations of the country’s public broadcaster or take any action on Fani-Kayode’s behalf.

According to him, Ramaphosa only directed the Nigerian envoy to Sophie Mokoena, whom he identified as the appropriate person to address his complaint.

“In South Africa the President does not intervene on operational matters at the public broadcasters, neither did he intervene on your behalf. He simply pointed you to @Sophie_Mokoena who was the most appropriate person to raise your grievance with,” he said.

The presidential spokesperson further accused Fani-Kayode of refusing to engage…

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