Ahead of South Africa’s May 2024 national elections, the Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC), released a report titled “Russian Twitter Influence in South Africa: The Kremlin’s in the System” that showed prominent accounts in the South African political discourse who were engaging with pro-Russia accounts on X.
Many of the interactions unfolded through the account @EmbassyofRussia which tags people like American, Jackson Hinkle, a pro-Russia and Trump-Maga supporter. Closer to home, @EmbassyofRussia tagged the handle @morningshot1, claiming to be “an alternative media analysis platform”.
Morning Shot was co-founded by the newly appointed chief of staff for the Ministry of Agriculture, Roman Cabanac.
The 10 accounts the report found that frequently interacted with and thus pulled into the online Russian community based on the volume of mentions, reposts or replies from that community are: @insightfactor, @mmodiba10, @embassyofrussia, @mahasharampedi, @thevaibhavag 7, @jacksonhinklle, @mfa_russia, @morningshot1, @iol and @gunderground_tv.
The report concludes that it is clear “that pro-Russian accounts are interacting frequently with accounts in South Africa, specifically on the extreme ends of South Africa’s political spectrum, namely the far left and far right, either by reposting their content or tagging them in photos.”
Cabanac’s engagements with Russia are not only online. He was hosted in May this year by Rosatom, the state-owned Russian nuclear energy company.
Discussing his trip to Russia on the Gareth Cliff show, “The Real Network”, Cabanac explained that he was invited to Russia by the African CEO of Rosatom for a press tour of their power station in Pevek. In the video, Cabanac talks about “what a scam the climate change people are”.
It is unclear what interest Cabanac has in nuclear energy, apart from his pro-nuclear agenda, his apparent support for Russia and his scepticism of climate change. Cabanac also confesses that he is not a democrat, but self-identifies as “far right”.
Through his personal X account, during elections week, a post from Cabanac – which has since been deleted – was saved in the course of the CABC’s research for its election report.
In this post, Cabanac shares thoughts from his time in Russia saying, “ … 1) Moscow is beautiful (especially the old town), No litter, homeless people or diversity.” He goes on to say, “You won’t find little China here.”
Cabanac appears to have missed election day in South Africa, as a result of his Russian adventure. His post below from 29 May 2024 has been deleted since his appointment.
On 4 December 2023, Cabanac shared this post advocating for public executions for corruption. This post has not been deleted:
The Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC) sought comment from Cabanac who did not respond.
The questions asked were:
- Why do you think you feature so prominently in the top 10 accounts within the Russian online community identified in the report?
- In your appearance on The Real Network with Gareth Cliff, you say “what a scam the climate change people are”? Why do you think "climate change people" are a scam and who are you referring to?
- Are you a climate change denialist?
- If so, what impact do you think your position on climate change will have on the agricultural sector, the Department you now represent as Chief of Staff?
- Please explain your interest in nuclear energy and Rosatom.
- You self-identify as “far right” on The Real Network. Can you explain more about this?
- You also express an appreciation for autocrats and dictators on The Real Network saying Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco was too soft. Do you subscribe to South Africa's constitutinal democracy?
- In one of your deleted posts, you say that Russia has " ... No litter, homeless people or diversity.” You go on to say that, “You won’t find little China here.” What do you find appealing about China having no diversity? What did you mean by, “You won’t find little China here.”?
- In another post, you advocate "for public executions for corruption". Do you not consider this unconstitutional?
DM
The Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change (CABC) is a non-profit organisation established to track and counter misinformation, disinformation, fake news, and divisive and polarising rhetoric promulgated online to undermine social cohesion, democratic integrity, and the stability of nation-states.