President Cyril Ramaphosa has removed the Iran naval drill investigation from the Defence Department and placed it under the Presidency, appointing a panel led by Justice Bernard Makgabo Ngoepe.
Image: Linda Mthombeni
President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken over the investigation into Iran’s controversial participation in Exercise MOSI III Will of Peace, removing the probe from the Department of Defence and placing it under the direct authority of the Presidency.
The move significantly escalates the matter and effectively supersedes the departmental board of inquiry previously announced by Defence Minister Angie Motshekga.
Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson to the president, said: “President Cyril Ramaphosa has instituted the probe related to the Exercise MOSI III Will of Peace and has appointed an investigative panel to be led by Justice B.M. Ngoepe as the Chairperson of the panel.”
Justice Bernard Makgabo Ngoepe will chair the panel, assisted by Justices K. Satchwell and M.M. Leeuw, and Rear Admiral (JG) P.T. Duze.
“The panel will report directly to the president,” Magwenya said.
The presidency stated that the new panel relates to “the failure to heed the instruction by the President that the navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran must no longer participate in the Chinese-led Exercise Will of Peace 2026 that took place in South African waters.”
Explaining why the probe has been moved from the Defence Ministry, Magwenya said: “The relocation of the inquiry from the Ministry of Defence and Military Veterans to the Presidency is to ensure an independent and timeous probe.”
He added: “The President is, in terms of section 202(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence Force.”
According to the Presidency, “The Panel will investigate and make recommendations in relation to the circumstances surrounding the exercise, the factors that may have contributed to the failure to observe the President’s order, person or person’s responsible and the consequences to follow.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa has removed the Iran naval drill investigation from the Defence Department and placed it under the Presidency, appointing a panel led by Justice Bernard Makgabo Ngoepe.
Image: SANDF
The panel will have the authority to summon members of the defence force and public service, and “to request for all documents, including classified documents, to fulfil its mandate.”
Ramaphosa has directed that the panel must complete its work within one calendar month of its establishment, although he “may, on compelling cause shown, extend the period of the panel’s proceedings.”
Due to national security considerations, “the work of the Panel will be confidential,” and the president “may on the recommendation of the panel and the minister, decide to publicise or not to publicise all or any portion of the outcomes of the panel’s investigation.”
Defence Minister Angie Motshekga
Image: Parliament of SA
This development builds directly on IOL’s January reporting, when questions first surfaced over whether Ramaphosa’s instruction regarding Iran’s participation had been ignored or misrepresented during the Chinese-led naval drills in South African waters.
At the time, Motshekga announced a defence department-led board of inquiry amid confusion over whether Iran was participating fully or merely observing the exercise.
With the probe now relocated to the Presidency and reporting directly to Ramaphosa, the matter shifts from a departmental review to a presidential-level investigation into compliance with the Commander-in-Chief’s directive — raising broader questions about command authority, decision-making processes and accountability within the defence establishment.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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