WATCH
Fact Check — Did Iran fund South Africa’s approach to the ICJ over Israel?
The reason this claim is difficult to conclusively fact-check is because we don’t have access to the ANC’s balance sheets, so there’s no way of categorically refuting the idea that the party has just received a massive donation from Iran.
This is a difficult claim to fact-check, as will be seen, but it’s an important one because it has been repeated by some fairly high-profile public figures and has found quite a bit of traction on social media.
We’ve also been besieged by emails from Daily Maverick readers asking us if this claim is true.
The allegation is essentially: The ANC, which for years has been teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, announced in early January that it had managed to stabilise its finances. It didn’t really give any specifics on how this had been accomplished.
In the same week, South Africa approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague to ask that Israel’s actions in Gaza be classified as genocide.
To some people, the timing of these two events is suspicious. And so the rumour was born that Iran, an enemy of Israel, had essentially paid the ANC to litigate against Israel in the ICJ.
The major person who spread this claim appears to have been Frans Cronje, the former CEO of the Institute of Race Relations, in an interview with the Johannesburg radio station ChaiFM. A similar claim was made by advocate Paul Hoffman from Accountability Now in an interview with BizNews editor Alec Hogg.
The reason this claim is difficult to conclusively fact-check is because we don’t have access to the ANC’s balance sheets, so there’s no way of categorically refuting the idea that the party has just received a massive donation from Iran.
We asked ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu straight up: Has the ANC received money from Iran? She replied: “Unlike other parties, or even NGOs for that matter, the ANC does declare where its funding is derived.”
She’s referring to the regulations in the Political Party Funding Act – and we do know that if the ANC did receive funding from Iran, it would be a violation of this legislation, which prohibits South African political parties from accepting any funding from foreign governments except for training and policy development.
Bhengu said the idea that Iran was paying the ANC to approach the ICJ was “preposterous”.
It should be noted that the only reason we are led to believe that the ANC has just received some kind of cash injection is because of comments by the party’s treasurer-general, Gwen Ramokgopa, on the sidelines of the ANC’s January 8th birthday celebrations. She told journalists the party was in better shape financially, saying: “We are still not yet out of the woods but […] we have been able to stabilise our finances.”
We don’t know anything further about whether that is even true, or whether the ANC is putting on a brave face ahead of the elections. But Bhengu told us the party’s greater financial stability was thanks to membership fees, its debit order system and in-kind contributions.
In terms of the wider claim that South Africa is doing Iran’s bidding on the international stage, Department of Justice spokesperson Chrispin Phiri told Daily Maverick that this is offensive nonsense.
“It is very disappointing that the people who make spurious and conspiratorial claims are not required to support their claims with any evidence. Instead it’s government who has the burden to rebut these spurious claims,” he said.
There are two specific claims Hoffman which Phiri is adamant are factually incorrect.
One is that the South African government has had “quite a lot of interactions” with Iran since the October Hamas attacks on Israel. Phiri says there was one one-day meeting between International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor and her Iranian counterparts on 22 October 2023, which had been publicly disclosed at the time.
Phiri also says it is not accurate to say, as Hoffman has claimed, that the government has had repeated interactions with Hamas since the October attacks. Rather, it was the ANC that hosted a visiting Hamas delegation in December. And it was not the ANC that had taken Israel to the ICJ, but the Republic of South Africa.
There are many who will find this rebuttal unconvincing. But one fact we should keep in mind is that South Africa’s approach to the ICJ over Israel is in keeping with its wider stance on Gaza.
In other words, we don’t need a conspiracy theory to explain why South Africa went to the ICJ. Plenty of people might not like it, but it is consistent with the government’s position on Palestine stretching back many years. DM
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“Unlike other parties, or even NGOs for that matter, the ANC does declare where its funding is derived.”
Incorrect, all parties must declare their funding. Since the ANC has been dishonest about so many things in the past, it is not unreasonable to assume that they are dishonest about this topic.
“In other words, we don’t need a conspiracy theory to explain why South Africa went to the ICJ. ”
While you are correct with this statement poltitically, we definitely can question how a near bankrupt party owing 100 million suddenly has no financial issues anymore. Especially in light of cadre deployment, fire pools and state capture, all thanks to the ANC.
“because we don’t have access to the ANC’s balance sheets”
So why don’t they show us where all this money came from? Conspiracy theories are easily debunked with telling the truth.
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story – Mark Twain
Come on Rebecca,you can do better than this. A paper thin article? Where are your investigative journalism skills? I’ve always had a higher opinion of you than this ‘story’
Practice what you preach
The Occam’s Razor approach usually works best when dealing with ANC public pronouncements…in this case, the notable absence of an outright denial of the allegation.
NVM, the truth will come out, eventually.
Occam’s razor: when trying to understand any given phenomenon, one should prefer the explanation that involves the fewest assumptions. Try that on this matter, and there are untestable assumptions in all directions, so the ‘Unproven’ verdict is probably the best one can do.
Agreed, John.
Truth has a way of rearing it’s ugly head
Problem is the ANC and the govt have a credibility problem – so difficult to believe anything without proof one way or the other
True ,that is why conspiracies flourish .
If the ANC denied it then we know it to be true.
No facts were checked and nothing was rebutted. Statements denying the allegation were gathered from the ANC and published. The headline and the ‘facts’ presented to arrive at the conclusion that it’s a ‘conspiracy theory’ seem so far removed from one another as to be intentionally misleading.
While having only read this article regarding these allegations, I did notice that ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu did not say “No” to the question of receiving money from Iran – there were lots of other words, but not “No, we did not”.
Dear Ms Davis,
It is such a serious allegation from far more credible sources than the ANC mouthpieces you have brought in to give the appearance of objective journalism, that it deserves at the very least to be thoroughly investigated rather than glossed over.
Begs the question of whose bidding are you doing?
very strange that because SA is taking Israel to the ICJ for genocide claims , people are concerned that the funds come from Iran ! so what if they do come from Iran ? whats the issue ? Israel received $14 500 000 000 from the US to kill and genocide Palestinains …. where the inquiry and the outrage ? US Congress and the Senate , and the President Himself receive hundred of Million of USD , if not billions form Israeli “Lobbyists ” ( US political term for Bribers) each year to change and shape policy ….. where s the outrage ? why should it be illegal , or frowned upon when anyone funds something that may be “against US and Israeli Interests” …… i can assure you of one thing , even if Iran did pay (which I seriously doubt) …. the US and Israel has spent infinitely many more times over than that , to shape the world s opinion around what you can blatantly see on any social media or TV station as a Genocide in real time !
While the amount of money floating around in US politics should certainly be concerning to us all (given their outsize influence in international relations), two wrongs does not make a right.
But a much bigger reason why this would be an issue (at least in terms of our laws) is because it would boil down to (indirectly) transferring state funds to the governing party.
Not that I really wish to give credence to allegations that is based on nothing more than conjecture at this point. But if it did happen, it would be quite rightly be called fraud and corruption, and that can’t be handwaved because politicians in other countries also happen to be for sale.
Hahahahaha
“Rather, it was the ANC that hosted a visiting Hamas delegation in December. And it was not the ANC that had taken Israel to the ICJ, but the Republic of South Africa”.
But the the ANC regards it and the State as one. “L’etat c’esr moi”
Because our foreign policy shouldn’t be for sale. A nation’s foreign policy should be its own and directed toward the best interests of its citizens. Isn’t that obvious?
absolutely agree.
Correct.
And the IRR, it was reported in Daily Maverick, receives funding from the US’ Heritage Foundation. This was denied by that organisation.
However, the heirs of the founder of the IRR, Edgar Brookes, reportedly claimed that it “had declined from ‘an important part of the broader anti-apartheid and human rights movements’ to become today ‘an extremist libertarian misinformation machine’. (DM, 14 August 2021).
This is the organisation making the claim?
The only way to Fact Check is to put the onus on the DA to request the independent judiciary to find out whether the ANC received funding from foreign governments or entities representing these governments. Considering the many ways of hiding the real source of the funds we may have to revisit Cyril’s couch! However, I have identified three likely ways that the USA and some of its Allies could possibly impose sanctions and boycotts on South Africa with all its consequences of further crippling the already failing state. The ANC are a buzzing mosquito, annoying but easily dealt with by the USA and its Allies. Watch this space. A vote for the ANC will be a vote for such boycotts and sanctions.
Not really mate. The chess board appears more complex. A hard go on SA by the US puts a lot of important things at risk. For instance, there is a tech war underway between the US and China. We hold vast quantities of proven deposits of the most vital minerals necessary for their prospects. Plus we are on the best of terms with African countries who posses them too whose loyalty can be relied upon in case of vindictive US action…….incidentally, if you care much for the geopolitical implications of South African foreign policies, then I propose you inquire why our vaunted DA continues to pander to western interests including sending party and pronvicial leaders to Ukraine & the US when the economic interests of their constituents are clearly vested in Africa. 30% of Western Cape regional GDP is exports. 4 African countries are in the top 5 of these export makerts. All of them are run by liberation movements with deathly loyalty to the ANC as well as established anti-west ideologies. I propose to you that you perhaps inquire from the DA why they behave in such a demonstrably reckless fashion.
Ditto that. The DA panders to Western interest because their political philosophy and that of their donors relies on the West and their largesse. They care little about Africa and African interest apart from exploiting our natural resources together with their cohorts in the ruling party. South African citizens are left between a rock and a hard place because choosing between the ANC and the DA on this one is akin to choosing between Satan and Lucifer.
If African countries can think wider than their own geopolitical interest we can become one of the most powerful blocs in world affairs but we do not align our interest, and still act and think along narrow party political interest. It’s a real sad state of affairs.
Oy Vey, such ignorance
It still interests me how the membership fees and debit orders had suddenly escalated to such a degree that the anc could spend many millions of rands on exclucive alcohol brands for its birthday bash, as well as meeting its previously unpaid obligations.
Agreed. It is South Africa taking Isreal to the ICJ using taxpayers money, but the ANC making party political decisions and possibly receiving benefits for South Africa’s actions. The ANC believes it is the state and has a right to use taxpayers money as they see fit.
When the excuses come out, the smell becomes a strong whiff, near repugnant.
From about seizure of ANC assets two months ago, coupled with salary delays, pension and medical aid deductions not effected, ditto PAYE and UIF. to being flush with cash now…go and figure.
Since when can we believe anything the ANC says ? Show us the books – ALL of them.
Which set of books?
If the ANC thinks that these claims are false, it’s all rather simple. Challenge those who made the statements in an open court. The problem is, they will NEVER do so because it will expose their lies. Case closed.
There’s a story going around under click-baity headlines about SA banks “providing a platform” for funding for Hamas. OK, so if Israel can detect that, why haven’t they been able to pick up funding from Iran or one of it’s proxies into the ANC or directly into Government coffers? They’d have a field day with that little lot.
The money must somehow end up with Government because it is Government that must pay the legal fees, not the ANC.
It’s not impossible, of course, but I think it a long shot. Sometimes things happen at the same time and people assume that they are cause and effect.
And suddenly they also had the money to settle the substantial claim from the 2019 election service provider. Just like that and no further word on the many stories told as to why this was a false claim.
It’s disingenuous for this rumor mongering to be entertained given by your own admission you allude to our government’s relationship with Palestinians. The individuals who are trying to create this storm are well-known anti-ANC people so it’s not surprising. Free information for whoever cares to know the truth: the action is funded by Department of International Relations and the action is in keeping with its mandate. I fully support this action because unlike these individuals I know what it’s like to be oppressed.
To the extent that a single word uttered by any ANC lackey/gangster/crook/thief/fraudster/MP can be taken as some vague semblance of the truth, then it is not DIRCO funding this malignant virtue-signalling exercise, but the SA taxpayer. And a simple analasis of the taxpayer demographics will show that the demographic responsible for most of the tax extorted in SA are not pro-Palestine supporters.
Great comment David. “Tax extorted” is spot on!
Oh really? You’re saying white people are the main tax-payers? Heard of VAT perhaps? PAYE? This debunked nonsense has over-stayed its popularity.
This is actually what the SA Tax Pie looks like:
Personal Income Tax: 38%
VAT: 24%
Company Tax: 20%
Excise Tax: 7%
Other (estate tax) 7%
Ergo, everybody pays tax in one form or another.
Economics and finance are obviously not your strong point. And where exactly did David mention race?
Hahahahaha
Yet the pro-hamas legions don’t care for the truth either
“Pennies from Heaven”or does money grow on trees?Let the truth prevail.Show us the books.
The problem the ANC have in their narrative that this was a moral imperative is the inconsistancy. When the Myanmar regime ethnically cleansed the Rohyngia Muslims from Mynamar – they did not approach the ICJ. They even failed to condemn them at the UN. When it became clear that China was putting its Uyghur muslims in concentration camps and separating children from their parents – we failed to act.
Worse, when ordered by our own courts to arrest Omar al Bashir on behalf of the ICC – the government colluded in his escape. As recently as 4 Jan our president hosted Sudanese warlord General Dagalo who is also accused of genocide.
So the South African (or should I rather say ANC ) complaint to the ICJ about Israel’s actions in Gaza are not at all in keeping with our actions in previous well documented crimes against humanity. It is therefore completely appropriate that we ask the ANC “what is different this time?”
On the other side of the question, we know that the ANC still owes SARS for PAYE withheld from its employees but not paid over (which is a crime). We also know that they owed roughly R160m (including interest) to Ezulweni for posters for the 2019 election. This has been ongoing for 4 years and has suddenly been settled. The amount is more than the declared donations to the ANC from 2021 to 2023. Their treasurer also tells us that the ANC finances have been stabilised. It is thus also fair to ask where all the money came from.
The ANC have not got an above – reproach history in regard to fundraising. their investment company (Chancellor House) is their third largest donor over the last three years. We all know that the company made R50m from its joint venture with Hitachi to supply boilers to Eskom for Medupi and Kusile which did not meet the specs for the design of the power stations )who approved this tender?). This is the major reason why they were not built on time and have been so unreliable. The second largest donor is United Manganese which is part owned by Russian oligarch Vikto Vekselberg. This donation was made after the ANC (on our behalf) decided not to criticise Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and possibly supplied ammunition to them on the Lady R.
Given the above and multiple cases of companies which have received major government tenders (despite their lack of qualifications to fulfil these) and also donated to the ANC we can reasonably conclude that the ANC is up for sale and happy to sell South Africa and us along with their souls.
Make no mistake the decisions by the ANC to back Russia over Ukraine and to make South Africa the ONLY country to take Israel to the ICJ will enrage our natural friends (democratic free countries) in the west who are irreplaceable trading partners and who are important donors of aid when we need it (reference PEPFAR without which we would have lost millions of people to AIDS). It is a massive own goal and we should be angry and demand answers. Why was this case different, ANC? Follow the money!
Greg Ash
Every government picks it strategic friends.
SA is attacked for its BRICS+ friends. The US and the UK have a list of morally questionable friends and countries they sell weapons to. It’s like US bullets killing people in GAZA delivered by US F-16s.
Selling someone weapons to commit alleged genocide is much like being an accessory
Hahahaha
You are correct, but we have a constitution with a Bill of Rights. South Africa is associating with countries that meet none of the values in the Bill of Rights the ANC fought so long to establish (summarised as rights) The list of countries we have close relations with, Iran, KSA, China, Russia, aren’t democracies with reasonable human rights standards. Hamas has openly stated that it will not stop their terror campaign until Israel is eliminated, but South Africa does not consider that genocidal intent and is happy to support them. I just want to understand what happens to Israel if they implement a one sided ceasefire? It’s clear that Hamas and the other Islamic terror organisations are not going to live as peaceful neighbours. We not apply even handed rational thought?
Hamas has openly stated versus israel is actively doing… actions speak louder than words in my opinion.
It is public knowledge that Mandela had a close relationship with Arafat over the years. He even said this himself during an interview in the US.what’s this trying to be dramatic..some people wont like it…no thunder fir this one, sorry
Just had another thought about the Fact Check procedure. The DA requests Treasury to provide proof of the legal expenses of the ICJ application which sum has been speculated to be around R2bn. However, that sounds very high to me. Treasury is cutting back on budget allocations knowing the coming budget shortfall. The Foreign Affairs Dept. or whatever it is called, or the Dept. of Justice would be the logical payor of these legal and accompanying expenses. Let the Auditor General investigate where the money came from to fund this unbudgeted expense of the relevant Dept. Hoping for transparency is a long shot but if you don’t have “skin in the game” you can’t be expected to win. The DA should be jumping all over this, otherwise, they are “looking a gift horse in the mouth.”
I am surprised that the “Brains Trust” of the DM and its excellent Investigating Arm are not pursuing this very important issue. If foreign government/s are involved in this funding, with its severe implications for the ANC, let’s get it out there before the May 2024 General Elections.
Everything is now making sense now. Acting as a proxy for Iran for monetary gain sounds like the ANC for sure.
Exposed just in time before elections.
Another nail in the coffin for South Africa.
3 Bank accounts totalling +-60 thousand for a major institution, does not teeter on eminent bankruptcy. It performs an aerial somersault over the edge with a belly flop.
One cannot in truth fault the ANC for their masterclass in explaining nothing.
What does this mean? “And it was not the ANC that had taken Israel to the ICJ, but the Republic of South Africa.” They don’t speak for me.
Unfortunately mate, on the international stage of the ICJ they do speak for you, they are your government and they speak with the mandate you gave them as the democratically elected goverment
So concerned for Gaza, but where was this concern when Russia invaded Ukraine. The ANC must think we are all fools.
Most of us are.
Ukraine have the right to appear before the ICJ, and they have used that right and got judgements from the ICJ (which Putin has ignored). Gaza and/or Palestine have no such right, so it requires a third party to lay charges for Israel’s actions.
I’m not affiliated to any political whatsoever, As far as I’m concerned it was the state that took Israel to ICJ not the party ANC. Department of international relations is mandated to facilitate all application to ICJ.
Grace Naledi Mandisa Pandor (née Matthews; born 7 December 1953) is a South African politician, educator and academic serving as the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation since 2019. She has served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for the African National Congress (ANC) since 1994
The ANC took Israel to court not South Africa….
Wrong, the SA government took Israel to court
It would be interesting to know who the major funders of The Gift of the Givers and the EFF are too! Both of these entities joined forces to promote the ICJ case against Israel in Parliament where the vote was taken and passed resulting in the quickest judicial response we have ever seen in this country!
Something is up ….it it most concerning for ordinary South Africans who just want to get on with life peacefully, fairly and compassionately.
Thank you for a bit of eruidte deconspiracy-ing. Pity about the the Chief Rabbi and Max Du Preez sharing their intrusive thoughts on public platforms without realising how irresponsible it is to share their fearmongering, considering the followings they have.
HEY, WHY DOES THE SO-CALLED ‘HONEST ANC’ NOT PROVE THE ALLEGATIONS ARE WRONG, BY SUBMITTING THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS? 🙄🙄
“It was not the ANC that had taken Israel to the ICJ but the Republic of South Africa” Hogwash! Did the ANC vet this action with other parties? The DA, EFF, IFP, etc? Almost certainly not. The usual ANC policy of using its majority in parliament to launch ridiculous actions applies once again. The ANC seeks to use South Africa as a scapegoat for their complete lack of transparency and honesty should things not go their way.
Should the rumours, of the ANC being funded by Iran, proof to be true, we are in more trouble than we realised.
As the article rightfully stated, this will be very difficult to confirm.
This country, has never been closer to a civil war breaking out and this might very well tip the scale
Rumour or not, this is the first logical explanation of the South African behaviour. Not that our government acts logically very often. Most of the countries act internationally in their national self-interest. In SA it is not the self-interest of the country but of the ANC.
The Government denials ring quite hollow. Suddenly the ANC’s finances are stable, and it’s not the ANC but the RSA that has brought the ICJ case against Israel. Sounds like quid pro quo to me – a large donations to the ANC, who then typically uses taxpayers money to fund the legal action. Wouldn’t that be just typical?
How many opposition parties were involved in the law suite? None. It’s the anc that is doing this, it’s just sad that indeed it is seen as SA doing it
P
lease can you also investigate as further evidence to these allegations the latest video showing 2 members of the United for Palestine movement in Durban, stating that they will join the ANC at their manifesto launch at Moses Mabidia stadium ont he 24th Feb for a “in stadium show of support…”.
So need to confirm is this a confirmed case of the ANC acting with the Free Palestine Movement?
If so, then there is more weight that in fact Iran is pulling strings and the Anc’s has cleared it’s balance sheet using Iran’s cash…
Why was the South African accusation not supported by a SINGLE Middle East country?
All international payments, even those from anonymous shell companies in the Caribbean, or Singapour, are tracked now.
So if the ANC did suddenly receive cash from Iran, it will be visible, even if it comes from sunnysuncorp Ltd of the Virgin Islands, unless they went outside the banks.
Which is possible, Russian ships (and aircraft lets not forget) which get special treatment, might have containers filled with gold from Iran for the ANC, which is then sold as good old SA gold, (even though the mines are a shadow of what they were.)
Russia and Iran now have a military alliance. Iran supplies Russia with drones, used against Ukraine in return for nothing, apparently.
A little help sending gold to good buddy ANC to pay for a court case against sworn enemy Israel is entirely possible.
3 banks are under investigation for this, Standard Bank, Nedbank and ABSA
Never mind just checking the ANC’s Balance Sheet. You need to decipher all the middlemen along the way, and to check for possible accomplices of Iran.
“Fact” checking journalist
As soon as any amount over R24,499 lands in a bank account that the financial institution should reasonably suspect as a “suspicious transaction” it should be reported to the Financial Intelligence Centre. If such money flowed in and was not reported the bank will be responsible. If it was reported and the FIC looked the other way as they did with about R7bn of reported Gupta transactions then you know who is pulling the strings
Apparently it is being done via mobile apps using hundreds of burner phones and transferring smaller amounts thousands of times per day so as to avoid raising the flag of a big money transfer
Doesn’t the ANC receive funding at this time from a Russian Oligarch owning a Manganese Mine in Northern Cape. Coincidentally this Mine has ANC links.
Gaza: a proxy for SA’s own unresolved racial issues? And then calling it an apartheid state (which it is the furthest thing from) positions it perfectly as a relevant target. I know it is ‘difficult’ to prove where the money came from. But that’s your job DM. Whether SA is now a satellite state of Iran is crucially important for us to know.
How much did the case cost and where did the money come from?
Apparently $2 Billion! Not Rand… Dollars. That makes it R38 Billion. Where does that money come from? Almost all of South Africa’s municipalities are bankrupt – cannot even repair potholes anymore and rely on the citizens to do it now if they want to prevent damage to their vehicles. But they suddenly have R38 billion to spend on a meritless ICJ case?? As somebody said in the media… “useful idiots to Iran.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had a Pinocchio Virus attack, so that every time somebody lied, their nose grew longer?
Yet another manifestation of our kakistocratic kleptocracy!
It is mind boggling that this atrocious woman, who is clearly as thick as a brick, is in a position to allocate vast amounts of our taxpayers’ money to a ridiculous court case in support of a bunch of terrorists who walked into a civilian area, murdered over a thousand innocent people and took more than 200 people hostage. She is so thick that she can’t even see that this will seriously enrage our country’s largest (by far) trading partners, which will surely result in further progressive disinvestment, when foreign investment is desperately needed to rectify the mess into which these fools have put our country over 30 years of mismanagement, theft, incompetence and laziness.
The ANC loves to claim that they brought democracy to RSA! Yet, their best buddies are Russia, China and Iran, three of the least democratic, most autocratic hell holes in the world.
This type of stupidity is very hard to begin to understand.
Why not charge Mbeki and the ANC with the genocide that resulted from their denial of the existence of AIDS and refusal to provide ARVs to South Africans?
Why not charge Zuma and scores of his mates who stole many billions of Rands? That has resulted in vast numbers of South Africans losing their jobs and incomes but the ANC does not care!
Israel is trying to do everything to discredit South Africa. This is how they work. And because UNRWA was quoted in the ICJ ruling they are also trying to discredit them – as well as trying to get rid of them because they are a constant reminder that the people in Gaza are refugees from Israel.
Hahahahaha
Human Rights Watch has been documenting and reporting on the actions of UNRWA employees in Gaza for 10 years, multiple reports have been submitted, with evidence, of the engagement of over 1,200 UNWRA employees being active members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and teaching the genocidal mandates of Hamas and IJ in schools. The active participation of UNRWA workers in the October 7 attack was just further evidence of how UNWRA in Gaza has been turned into a Hamas vehicle
The hypocrisy doesn’t end there either. Many blame Israel for having exclusively conducted a relationship with Apartheid South Africa when sanctions had been implemented against South Africa, but what many don’t know is that Iran was conducting illicit business with South Africa simultaneously. The Iranian Air Force also flew Mirages. I know this because I used to work within the Mirage Squadron during my national service in the 1980s and saw where the aircraft parts were ordered from. France had sanctioned South Africa and prohibited the Dassault Aviation factory from supplying the South African Airforce with Mirage parts. Israel is a convenient scapegoat and I wonder how many other backroom deals were being conducted at the time.
Mirage engines and spares were brought to SA directly from France, they were shipped in containers from Le Havre on SAFMARINE container ships
This is an opinion piece – not a fact check. Maybe write the article again when you have the facts.
All of the comments accusing or insinuating the “Iran funded the ANC” line are at this stage libel. Maybe they did and maybe they did not but at this stage it is all speculation and rumour. Exactly what fake news is all about.
A month before the Ezulweni matter was settled, the Supreme Court of Appeal, in denying the AN it’s repudiation of the debt, described the ANC’s evidence (given under oath) as “untenable … without veracity … not capable of belief …… bald, uncreditworthy denials designed to create fictitious disputes of fact.”
With it out in the public domain that the ANC are a bunch of lying crooks, it is incredibly bad “optics” for the ANC not to reveal where the funding came from. Knowing them, it might well have come from Iran directly but might have been laundered through local fronts — the ANC is expert at laundering money.
The lack of investigation by the IEC, the guardian of party funding, is far more galling that Rebecca’s feeble attempt at whitewash. “Factcheck” se voet!
Apartheid genocide denialist like Rebecca are reaching
It is a clear Israeli fabrication ANC has no or little relations with Iran but it is in Israeli interests to white wash themselves and to discredit ICJ lawsuit to claim that Iran gave money to ANC. I would not believe single word of this obvious lie!
And take this fabrication about Iran paying ANC together with threats that our Foreign Minister Pandor and her family are receiving, she even had to ask for increased police protection, it is quite clear Israeli special services are doing both!
Hahahahaha
The Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa on the ANC’s evidence:
[ANC v Ezulweni Investments — 24 November 2023]
… the version put up by the ANC … is utterly untenable and without veracity. The ANC’s version is not capable of belief …
The denials of the ANC fall into the category of bald, uncreditworthy denials designed to create fictitious disputes of fact.
This raised the question whether, if the ANC presents such evidence while under oath, its denials of irregular funding are worth anything.
Yet in August 2023 South Africa and Iran entered into co operration deal for Iran to build 5 oil refineries in South Africa. This was before the Brics summit. In the same month Iran entered into Brics. Iran after Russia has the largest gas reserve in the world. Listen to the cadres deployees suggesting Gas refineries as a solution to our energy crises, all coming soon to your front door. Refineries will be set up with the connected few and play role in reselling to SOE. Creame off the top. ANC finances are now settled through donations and membership fees:)
same level of fact checking as can be found in a Harry Potter book