Pressure is mounting for United States ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, to be expelled from the country.
It’s understood there are numerous calls, stemming from Pretoria, for his expulsion after he failed to provide evidence to claims that the country provided arms to Russia in the middle of an armed conflict.
The allegations had a severe impact on the country’s economy and global reputation.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to receive a report into the claims that was compiled by a three-person panel chaired by retired Judge Phineas Mojapelo.
South Africa’s government is still seething over Brigety’s May claims that arms were provided to Russia via the Lady R vessel.
This saw some, mostly from South Africa’s capital, calling for consequences over the saga, which they said should include Brigety being removed from the country’s shores.
However, while some believed Washington was also mulling over recalling Brigety, there were concerns over the optics of expelling an African American representative.
Brigety is believed to belong to Congress’s black caucus, which has a relationship with the country, and this left some concerned over the impact of such a move on those relations.
The ambassador was the first Western world representative to be publicly rebuked by Minister of International Relations Naledi Pandor.