Trump's lies rile SA: was Ramaphosa's rebuttal enough?
'What was really missing was a very clear denunciation of the genocide conversations by those that Trump takes more seriously than others; those would have been the golfers, John Steenhuisen and, as it turned out, Johann Rupert, but progress was made.'
Sanusha Naidu, from the Institute for Global Dialogue, praises Ramaphosa's strategic restraint. 'I think they were as effective as they could be given the context in which these claims were being made and the mindset of the person making the claims. Obviously, what was very difficult to do, was try to get the US president to accept that he could be wrong and that is not what anybody could achieve ... once President Trump is set on an idea and view, he doesn't back down,' she said.
'The SA Presidency, the delegation in particular, the president, handled it very well. He handled it with maturity, it was measured, it was understood what they were going to do.'
Business tycoon Rupert was part of the delegation. He told Trump crime in South Africa happened across the board — everyone is affected.
'It was a good playbook, the playbook was very critical because Ramaphosa knew you were never going to convince him [Trump] otherwise ... but you now created a doubt in his mind. President Ramaphosa knows how to play this game; it's the long waiting game and he can frustrate you because you're not getting a reaction out of him,' said Naidu.
Human rights lawyer Yasmin Sooka is less optimistic. 'It was quite a shock that we needed three white men to save us, none of whom rebutted the claims of persecution and genocide and it reminded me so much of the late president [FW] De Klerk who never said apartheid was a crime against humanity,' she said.
Sooka warns of global repercussions: 'I think we're being set up. Just as much as we've brought a case in the ICJ on genocide, don't be surprised if the American government doesn't file a case with the Israelis accusing South Africa of persecution, which is a crime against humanity, and genocide, because this is the narrative in the face of disinformation and falsehoods.'
Sooka believes only Ramaphosa and Cosatu's Zingiswa Losi 'really tried hard to rebut the misinformation'.
She cautioned about Trump's focus on EFF leader Julius Malema: 'They might find that the US uses global Magnitsky sanctions or 703C designations, which will mean travel bans for them and their families, so I am not sure if we've turned the tide.'
Sooka adds: 'States have an obligation if there is a basis for genocide and a crime against humanity, and so Trump's question to the president is quite loaded when he asks him what he is doing about Malema. It then becomes South Africa's failure to act when it had knowledge of the so-called genocide.'
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Mogotsi described himself to the Sunday Times in 2017 as an 'ordinary ANC member', but City Press recorded earlier this month that he is 'close to the top echelons of the ANC, including several ministers, especially those who served in MK'. City Press also described him as owning an upmarket bar in Mafikeng from where he is known to 'summon HODs and MECs for instructions on tenders'. Exactly where this apparent political muscle stems from is unclear. Perhaps most curious has been Mogotsi's habit of trying to meddle in provincial politics through a vehicle called the Brown Mogotsi Foundation. Through this, he was instrumental in forcing then North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo out of office in 2018, at least partly because of Mahumapelo's support for Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, rather than Ramaphosa, at the ANC's 2017 Nasrec conference. Most recently, Mogotsi claimed to be an undercover police informant who played a role in the arrest of fugitive rapist Thabo Bester. This smacks of fantasy – but Mogotsi does seem to have access to police intel, if you believe Mkhwanazi. The KZN police commissioner said in his press briefing that Mogotsi had messaged him last September with a picture of a register that is only supposed to be accessible to police. Mogotsi also appears to have knowledge of the law from the other side: he reportedly has at least three previous criminal convictions, including one for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Mkhwanazi allegations are a political firestorm for Ramaphosa To understand why Mkhwanazi's claims amount to such a political headache for Ramaphosa, it's helpful to revisit the political context leading up to the ANC's elective conference at Nasrec in 2017. Senzo Mchunu was one of Ramaphosa's closest allies and was endorsed by Ramaphosa as his preferred candidate, on his 'slate', for secretary general. Mchunu was absolutely critical to Ramaphosa's campaigning because his constituency was in KwaZulu-Natal: the ANC's largest province by membership, and whose delegates to the elective conference were expected to fall in line with former president Jacob Zuma's endorsement and vote for Dlamini Zuma. Throughout the campaign, Mchunu leveraged his regional influence to rally ANC branches and delegates in support of Ramaphosa's message of reform. Notably, local ANC structures that aligned with Mchunu and Ramaphosa faced pushback from the Zuma-aligned KZN leadership; for instance, the ANC's KZN provincial executive committee moved to disband the Lower South Coast regional leadership, which had been campaigning for Ramaphosa, a move widely seen as an attempt to thwart that region's pro-Ramaphosa campaign. This illustrates how Mchunu actively mobilised support for Ramaphosa, triggering resistance from the opposing faction in the province. Mchunu's political role in KZN significantly influenced the dynamics of the 2017 Nasrec conference. By delivering a portion of the KZN delegates to Ramaphosa, Mchunu materially helped narrow the gap between Ramaphosa and Dlamini Zuma. And although it may have been the recently deceased David Mabuza whose Mpumalanga delegates ultimately handed victory to Ramaphosa, Mchunu's contribution cannot be discounted. Mchunu himself would narrowly (and controversially) lose the secretary-general position at that conference to Ace Magashule. But Ramaphosa went on to repay Mchunu for his support with a series of Cabinet posts in which his brand has been low-visibility and also low-controversy. 'While some of Mchunu's leading contemporaries in the ANC have been entangled in one form of scandal or another while amassing fortunes dubiously, the former teacher has largely stayed clear of adverse publicity,' veteran KwaZulu-Natal journalist Cyril Madlala wrote of him in Daily Maverick. That all changed for Mchunu on 6 July with Mkhwanazi's press conference. How much truth is there in the Mkhwanazi allegations? Ramaphosa has acted swiftly on the Mkhwanazi claims: suspending Mchunu and establishing a commission of inquiry to be helmed by Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga. The President has also suddenly taken action against South Gauteng director of public prosecutions Andrew Chauke – almost two years after National Prosecuting Authority boss Shamila Batohi wrote to Ramaphosa to request his suspension, citing serious concerns about Chauke'sconduct in office – multiple questionable decisions, delays and failures to prosecute high-profile cases involving State Capture and corruption. When Daily Maverick asked the Presidency this week if Ramaphosa's sudden action on Chauke was prompted by the Mkhwanazi press conference, spokesperson Vincent Magwenya demurred, saying: 'The Chauke matter predates Mkhwanazi's allegations.' Yet it is notable that among Mkhwanazi's allegations was that the criminal syndicate he claims to have identified includes 'prosecutors in Gauteng province'. Many South Africans have expressed gratitude to Mkhwanazi for having seemingly prompted unusually decisive action from Ramaphosa – despite the fact that Mkhwanazi's claims remain wholly untested. It remains to be seen what evidence Mkhwanazi will turn over to the Madlanga Commission. But one aspect of the claims – that Mchunu ordered the shuttering of the Political Killings Task Team in December 2024 – did attract attention at the time for being a strange decision. One KwaZulu-Natal expert termed it 'bizarre' at the time, on the grounds that political assassinations tend to increase ahead of local government elections, which are scheduled for 2026. If the commission confirms Mkhwanazi's claims, it will mark a dramatic fall from grace for a political grouping heralded in 2017 as ushering in a new climate of clean governance in stark contrast to the dark days of State Capture. DM
