June 16 () –
The spokesman for the Presidency of South Africa, Vincent Magwenya, confirmed this Friday that President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived “safe and sound” in Kiev, after part of his security team was prevented from boarding from Poland on the grounds that they did not have permit to carry arms.
“The president arrived in Kiev safely by train together with other heads of state and government who are part of the peace mission of African leaders to Ukraine and Russia,” said Magwenya, who described the incident as “regrettable”. and that they are working so that the plane can head for Russia.
“I would like to reassure all South Africans that the President’s security has not been jeopardized in any way as a result of the charter flight impasse with the Presidential Protective Services team and the media,” Magwenya said.
The flight chartered by the Presidency of South Africa, in which more than a hundred people were traveling including officials, members of the Government and the press, landed on Thursday in Warsaw, the scene prior to the official visit to Ukraine and Russia to meet with presidents Volodimir Zelenski and Vladimir Putin.
However, part of Ramaphosa’s security team was prevented from continuing to kyiv on the grounds that they did not have the necessary permits for the weapons they were carrying. The head of the presidential security team, General Wally Rhoode, accused Poland of sabotaging the security of the South African president.
Faced with the accusations of racism that have been leveled in recent hours, a senior Polish government official has denied that action has been taken on the basis of racial prejudice. “These accusations don’t make any sense,” said Polish Secretary of State Stanislaw Zaryn.
“The passengers of the South African plane that landed in Warsaw did not have permission to carry weapons. They were not given permission to leave the plane with their weapons. They considered that they would remain on board,” Zaryn said, echoing previous information released by the Polish Border Police.
