The Nigerian High Commission in South Africa has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesman, Vincent Magwenya, of bringing his country into disrepute, telling him that he was the “disgrace and no-one else” in the ongoing diplomatic dispute involving Nigeria’s newly accredited High Commissioner, Femi Fani-Kayode.
The mission, in a fresh response to Magwenya on X on Saturday, accused the presidential spokesman of displaying “insolence and ignorance” and deliberately undermining efforts to promote peace and reconciliation between Nigeria and South Africa.
“You are the disgrace and no-one else. Outside of that, your insolence and ignorance knows no bounds. You are bringing your nation into disrepute and wilfully and purposely burning the bridge of peace and reconciliation. That is a matter of concern to us,” the mission said.
It faulted Magwenya for describing Fani-Kayode as a liar shortly after he presented his letters of credence to Ramaphosa, questioning whether the envoy was expected to remain silent after what it described as disrespectful treatment of him and Nigeria.
“Today you are calling our newly-accredited Ambassador to your country a liar as well, barely a few hours after he presented his letters of credence. You also claim that he has disgraced our country simply because he complained to your President about a slight which your media team subjected him and our nation to,” it added.
The mission also recalled an earlier controversy in which Magwenya reportedly described Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and Ghanaian President John Mahama as peddlers of fake news after they expressed concerns about Afrophobia and xenophobia in South Africa.
It said Nigeria had ignored the earlier comments but warned that the spokesman’s latest remarks were provocative and undiplomatic.
“Why can’t you leave this matter for the diplomats to resolve rather than attempting to add fuel to fire? We urge you to exercise caution and tread the path of peace and reconciliation which is what we earnestly desire,” the mission said.
The High Commission further claimed that other ambassadors witnessed what happened during the accreditation ceremony and expressed disgust at the incident.
It also disclosed that it had a full video recording of the proceedings after the photographs were taken, which it said could be released if given approval.
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The mission, however, said it considered the matter closed, adding that Ramaphosa had helped resolve the situation by directing the relevant officials to address the complaint.
“Thankfully, your President had the decency and presence of mind to put out the fire and direct you and your state broadcaster to do the right thing. He literally saved the day,” it said.
Magwenya, in a subsequent response, dismissed the mission’s position, telling it to “peddle your lies as you wish” and urging it to learn restraint and diplomacy.
The latest exchange is an escalation of the diplomatic disagreement that began on Friday following Fani-Kayode’s complaint that Nigeria’s delegation was deliberately excluded from the livestream of a ceremony at which Ramaphosa received the letters of credence of 15 ambassadors in Pretoria.
The Nigerian envoy had alleged that while the introductions and speeches of the other 14 ambassadors were broadcast, Nigeria’s presentation was omitted from the livestream, which he said was suspended during his turn and resumed after he had delivered his speech.
Fani-Kayode said he raised the matter directly with Ramaphosa, who questioned the officials responsible and directed them to resolve the issue.
However, Magwenya disputed the account, insisting that the South African President did not intervene in the operations of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the country’s public broadcaster.
In an earlier post on X, Magwenya described the ambassador’s reaction to what he called a minor operational issue as “grossly inappropriate” and advised him to establish a professional relationship with the broadcaster.
The presidential spokesman subsequently told the Nigerian mission to stop disgracing itself and its country, urging it to familiarise itself with South Africa’s constitution, laws and the SABC’s editorial code.
The South African Presidency later released the full video of the ceremony, including Fani-Kayode’s speech, on its YouTube page.
