If talk in the corridors of power as well as a flurry of media reports over the past week are anything to go by, Reuben Brigety may not be the US ambassador to South Africa much longer.
Some even claim that the only reason he will still be in Pretoria when he celebrates his 50th birthday next month is that the optics of removing a US ambassador so close to the start of a high-level conference on the African Growth & Opportunity Act (Agoa) are just not pretty.
South Africa is scheduled to host the all-important Agoa Forum — which will go a long way in deciding if preferential trade with the US for South Africa and several other African countries extends beyond 2025 — before the end of the year.
What seems certain, judging by the hardened attitudes towards Brigety in Pretoria, is that none of our ministers or top officials will be inviting the US diplomat to a Chesa Nyama or one of those famous restaurants on Vilakazi Street in Soweto for celebratory birthday drinks.
Which is kind of sad, considering the enthusiasm with which he embraced local culture and cuisine when he first landed here as US President Joe Biden’s envoy.
His radio interviews proved popular even with listeners who cared little about politics and diplomatic affairs. His social media postings about enjoying himself at eateries around the country attracted thousands of likes and comments. Mostly positive, although many would find it hard to forgive him for that picture in which he seemed to be readying himself for a Durban bunny chow with fried chips. In a white shirt, nogal.
But all of that changed in May following the fateful media briefing in which he said he would “bet my life” that South Africa secretly loaded munitions on to Lady R — a US-sanctioned Russian ship — during its mysterious stop at Simon’s Town Naval Base in December.
The concern, it seems, is the damage an aggressive push for his expulsion may do to South Africa’s relations with one of its biggest backers within the US political elite – the Democratic Party’s Black Caucus
The sensational claim plunged the rand to new lows and pushed an already struggling economy into further crisis. President Cyril Ramaphosa was forced to appoint a panel to investigate the claim while, simultaneously sending envoys to Western capitals to assure them that South Africa hadn’t changed its “non-aligned” stance on the Ukraine war.
Now that it is becoming clear that no-one seriously believes South Africa provided weapons to Russia, and after the independent panel found no evidence supporting the allegation, some in Pretoria are baying for blood. The US must recall its ambassador or South Africa should expel him, they say. There is no way he can stay, not when he did so much harm to the economy and the country’s international reputation.
Those calling for his axing believe there wouldn’t be much resistance in Washington as the Biden administration itself was apparently taken aback by his outburst about the Lady R, especially because Brigety spoke out after Ramaphosa had already undertaken to investigate the claims, which had previously been brought to his attention.
The concern, it seems, is the damage an aggressive push for his expulsion may do to South Africa’s relations with one of its biggest backers within the US political elite — the Democratic Party’s Black Caucus. Its members apparently hold Brigety in high esteem and his humiliation might not go down well with them. Hence the belief that Pretoria will not push too hard on the issue but will give Washington space to find an elegant way of replacing him.
But whatever happens to Brigety, the saga demands serious reflection on how South Africa handled the whole Lady R matter. Rumours and suspicions about the Russian cargo ship and its reasons for being in South African waters did not begin with Brigety’s media conference. They started in December.
Yet not much was done to provide enough information to put minds at rest that no wrongdoing had taken place. The rumours persisted.
While it is commendable that the president appointed the investigation panel once Brigety publicly repeated the rumours as fact, the delay in making the panel’s report public only serves to fuel further rumours and suspicions that the government has something to hide.
It would be in the interests of Ramaphosa and the country to make the report public, redacting only those parts that may be genuinely deemed to be security sensitive, as this would put an end to all speculation.
Keeping it under wraps may give rise to the impression that the country does indeed have something to hide when, in fact, we may have been the victim of a US ambassador whose judgment was clouded by the disappointment of learning that the ANC he grew up admiring as a young Democrat is deeply suspicious of US foreign policy — whether driven by Republicans or Democrats.
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