International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola has confirmed that he is aware of attempts to persuade African ambassadors to boycott Africa Day Celebrations in North West, revealing that the plot was spearheaded by a single aggrieved ambassador.
Speaking to the media at the conclusion of the SADC Foreign Ministers’ summit in Mpumalanga on Sunday, Lamola said it had come to his attention that an ambassador to South Africa was utilizing a foreign diplomat’s WhatsApp group to incite tensions amid anti-illegal immigrant protests in the country.
“We know that there was an ambassador who was instigating the boycott, but the rest and the majority of the African ambassadors based in South Africa rejected the instigation,” Lamola said. He added that the South African government has been engaging with resident ambassadors from all African countries, noting that he personally engaged them at the early stages of the social unrest.
According to sources within the international relations department, the ambassador in question is the Central African Republic (CAR) ambassador to South Africa, André Nzapayeke. The sources say Nzapayeke’s anti-Pretoria stance stems from a decision by the department to have the ambassador’s country pay for his rental, a cost previously covered by South Africa’s international relations department.
Despite the growing tensions, Lamola emphasized that Pretoria remains open to dialogue with ambassadors whose citizens have been impacted. He noted that the department’s deputy director-general engaged with all resident ambassadors from the African continent, alongside law enforcement from the South African police services, to find a solution regarding protests impacting foreign nationals of African descent.
Lamola’s remarks come amid reports that countries such as Ghana are screening their nationals in South Africa and preparing to repatriate them in light of the ongoing anti-immigration protests.
