The South African presidency has issued a sharp rebuke to Nigeria’s High Commissioner, Femi Fani-Kayode, dismissing his claim that his speech was deliberately cut off during the presentation of his letters of credence to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya accused Fani-Kayode of misrepresenting events and wrongly portraying Ramaphosa as an intervening authority in what was, in reality, a minor technical glitch.
Fani-Kayode presented his credentials alongside 14 other envoys on Friday at the Sefako M. Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Tshwane, Gauteng, in a ceremony livestreamed on YouTube.
The broadcast faltered during the address by Antoine Michon, the French Ambassador to South Africa, who spoke immediately before Fani-Kayode. The feed then cut to Ramaphosa addressing the assembled diplomats.
In a lengthy post on X, Fani-Kayode vented his frustration, claiming he had raised the matter directly with Ramaphosa, who, “in fairness to him,” promptly escorted him to the “relevant officials and acted with despatch.”
He added that he had declined an interview with SABC News, the South African public broadcaster, “as a consequence of the deplorable way we were treated.”
Presidency Sets the Record Straight
Magwenya was unsparing in his response, insisting that Fani-Kayode had invoked the President on a matter in which he had no role.
“In South Africa, the President does not intervene on operational matters at the public broadcasters, neither did he intervene on your behalf,” he said.
According to Magwenya, Ramaphosa merely directed Fani-Kayode to Sophie Mokoena, SABC’s Acting Political and Foreign Editor, the appropriate official to address his complaint. The High Commissioner, he said, refused to speak to her, even though she could have cleared up the misunderstanding.
“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,” Magwenya added.
“Frankly, your approach in this regard on a minor operational issue which you misunderstood was grossly inappropriate.”
The presidential spokesman urged Fani-Kayode to engage directly with the SABC to build a “mutually beneficial, respectful and professional relationship” as he begins his tenure.
“I wish you well on your tenure and I hope you begin to engage the various aspects of South African society and its constitutional tenets constructively.”
Hours after Fani-Kayode’s post, the South African presidency uploaded a separate video of his full speech to its YouTube channel, effectively closing the matter.
