The South African Presidency has responded to Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, over his complaint that Nigerian representatives were deliberately excluded from the livestream of a diplomatic ceremony attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson for the South African Presidency, said Ramaphosa had no authority to interfere in the operational activities or editorial decisions of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the country’s public broadcaster.
Magwenya made the clarification in a post on X while responding directly to Fani-Kayode’s earlier account of the incident.
He accused the Nigerian envoy of misrepresenting the President’s involvement in the matter and insisted that Ramaphosa had not intervened on his behalf.
“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,” Magwenya wrote.
He explained that the South African President merely directed Fani-Kayode to Sophie Mokoena, whom he described as the appropriate person to address the 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,” the presidential spokesperson stated.
Magwenya further stressed that the SABC operates as a public broadcaster and that the President has no legal or political mandate to interfere with its operations or editorial processes.
“The SABC is a public broadcaster. The President carries no legal or political mandate to interfere with its operations or intervene in its editorial processes,” he added.
He also criticised Fani-Kayode’s handling of the matter, describing his reaction to what he considered a minor operational issue as inappropriate.
“Frankly, your approach in this regard on a minor operational issue which you misunderstood was grossly inappropriate,” Magwenya said.
He, however, wished the Nigerian envoy well in his diplomatic assignment, urging him to engage constructively.
The exchange followed Fani-Kayode’s complaint after he presented his letters of credence to President Ramaphosa at the South African Presidential Guest House in Pretoria.
The Nigerian envoy attended the ceremony alongside ambassadors from 14 other countries, describing the occasion as historic because it marked the first posting of a substantive Nigerian ambassador to South Africa in four years.
However, Fani-Kayode expressed displeasure after discovering that his introduction, as well as his speech and that of the Nigerian delegation, was missing from the official livestream of the event.
According to him, all 15 ambassadors were formally introduced and given opportunities to deliver speeches, but Nigeria’s segment was the only one omitted from the broadcast.
He alleged that the South African Presidency’s livestream went off during Nigeria’s presentation and resumed only after his speech had ended.
Fani-Kayode said he raised the matter directly with Ramaphosa during a photo session while they were still at the venue.
According to the former Nigerian Minister of Aviation, the South African President responded by taking him to relevant officials, questioning them and directing them to address the issue.
He, however, said the intervention came too late to prevent Nigeria’s presentation from being excluded from the livestream.
“Clearly some elements in South Africa do not want to hear what we have to say or see our faces, but we are here to stay as long as we are welcome and have the confidence of President Ramaphosa, which I am sure we do,” Fani-Kayode wrote.
He also disclosed that Nigerian television stations present at the ceremony recorded his speech and would make the footage available to the Nigerian public.
The ambassador further revealed that he declined an interview request from SABC News while still at the venue because of what he described as the unacceptable treatment of the Nigerian delegation.
He said he instead directed the broadcaster to listen to his speech, which he claimed officials had refused to include in the livestream.
Despite expressing disappointment over the incident, Fani-Kayode maintained that he had immense respect and affection for South Africa and its people.
He also thanked Ramaphosa for what he described as his concern and timely intervention, insisting that Nigeria would not tolerate any form of disrespect towards its government or citizens.
