Middle Nation Regions Briefing: South Africa | Madlanga Commission

Solving problems requires patience, sacrifice, compromise, vision, endurance, realism, ruthless focus, and determination.

Everyone. This is the region's briefing, and I will be actually taking on sister Nisa's role as the host of the region's briefing just for this particular session because I will be interviewing Sistinisa because our topic for the region's briefing today is going to be South Africa and some very interesting and important, actually, things that are going on in South Africa, particularly with regards to allegations of corruption and so forth and the infiltration of the government by potentially or or law enforcement rather by organized crime and what the government is trying to do about it. This is something that's very, internal to South Africa that most people are not gonna know about unless they are either South African or very much follow politics in South Africa. But that's part of what we're trying to do with Middle Nation is to keep our members, keep middle nation members informed about all of the different parts of the world, all of the different countries in the world, all of the different regions in the world, not only where there are significant numbers of Muslims, but countries and regions that are particularly important to the rise of the global South.

And as you know, South Africa is a founding member of BRICS. So South Africa is a very important country. It's one of the most important countries, if not the most important country in Africa at this time relative to, say, Nigeria or Egypt, of course. But it's extremely important country, so we wanna make sure that our members are well informed about what's going on in South Africa. And who better to talk to about that than our own sister Nisa Bardin.

So can you tell us what's going on now?

Assalamu alaikom, brother. Thank you so much for having me, and thank you to the listeners that's tuning in. So South Africa, there is a number of things going on. And like you mentioned, these are important developments within the country. For example, our topic today is about the Matanga Commission.

So South Africa has just fallen 50 places in the global safety rankings and one of the biggest drops in recent years. And while that is happening, the country is dealing with the Madranga Commission, which is continuing to do its work, which is exposing layers of corruption within the justice system. President Sarol Ramaphosa, he launched the commission after the case in police commissioner in Kangar Mukhanasi blew the whistle on political interference and deep corruption in law enforcement. And his testimony confirmed what many South Africans have long suspected in any case that organized crime networks are working with people inside the police and intelligence agencies or intelligence services. Now Ramaposa couldn't ignore it.

You know? Because if you remember earlier this year, South Africa went to the White House. They spoke to Donald Trump, and that is where Ramaphosa said that South Africa faces a serious criminality problem. And when on top of this, he stopped police generals came forward with his claims of syndicates, as you call it, within the police services or in the justice system. You know, silence is no longer an option.

So the key question is, really, does this Midland Law Commission bring a real change, or is it just another polished headline about accountability? So for example, the the commission investigates claims or what the commission does, it investigates claims that organized crime groups have infiltrated South Africa's justice system from the South African Police Service, which is ZEPS, the Crime Intelligence Unit, as well as the National Prosecuting Authority, which is the NPA. Now it is its job is to find out whether senior officials and political figures work with criminals, interfered in investigations, or even blocked justice. And the hearings are still ongoing, but the commission is taking an unprecedented approach. But this time, the enforcers of the law themselves are under investigation.

And it's not just about political killings. The commission covers all corruption and crimes committed by law enforcement officials.

K. So can you give us some examples actually of what types of corruption allegations or what what's the basis? I mean, what what are they accusing law enforcement of doing at the behest of organized crime?

Now Nklanta Amkenazi was backed by crime intelligence head to Masani Komalo who then testified about existence of what we call the big five, a network of high ranking officials of businessmen, underworld intermediaries, operating inside state institutions. So some of the names that were mentioned, I'm not gonna mention all of them, but some of the names that were mentioned was Senzo Ngunu, the former prime minister of police. These alleged links to criminal syndicates, interference in investigations, dismantling of case and in political killings, Stars team. We've got Shadrat Sebia, deputy national commissioner for crime detection in SAPS. A lad he was allegedly removed he allegedly removed politically sensitive case dockets about 121 police case files, and he shielded officials under political orders.

We've got Fani Masimola, national commissioner of. He's accused of foreign political orders to disband the PKTT and interfere sorry, interfere with police processes. And then we've got Natim Tethwa, who is the former my minister of police as well as the ambassador to France. He's accused of obstructing justice in Richard and Blouley's prosecution and blocking disciplinary cases. So these are some of the officials named in the hearings.

Those are the prominent ones we've heard so far. They are not minor figures. They are people responsible for law and order in South Africa. The commission's findings suggest that the system may have been compromised from within. So let's look at political killings as an example.

Police sorry. Political violence has become a grumb reality in South Africa, especially in KwaZulu Natal, where you'll find that counselors are being shot in their driveways. Whistleblowers disappear. Case files. Police case files are vanishing.

Organized crime has spread into the police and intelligence services, weakening the state's ability to act. Now there are stats. The numbers, they tell a story. Since 2018, Wazunula Tao has seen 331 political killings. And between 2020 and 2022, politically motivated killings rose from 24 for the year to 40, With KZN accounting to over 50% of that number, since 2011, at least 52 counselors and 103 municipal officials have been assassinated in politically linked context.

Now each of these numbers represent a life loss. And bear in mind that I'm speaking about political killings. I'm not talking about South Africa's murder rights, which is a 58 at least 58 a day. We are looking at two twenty twenty something thousand for the year. These are just the political killings that I'm speaking about.

So each number represents a life lost, and the justice system too compromised and therefore also very paralyzed to act on fixing this problem that we are experiencing. Now what makes this commission a little bit different? For once, the commission has acted faster than usual. For example, Senzun Kunu, he was put on special leave July 25. Shadrat Sabia was suspended in September 2025 pending investigation.

Not the only two suspensions, but they are still being paid while they are being suspended on special leave. And they that is all of them and the others that I haven't mentioned as yet. Now that is what makes it slightly different to previous commissions. These mud commission suspensions are unusual, like I said, because previous inquiries like Lisandro Commission, Siriti, Marikana often took years before anyone faced any consequences. And in many cases, nothing was done about it.

In fact, our current president went on to take office without any impact from early investigations in the Maratana massacre. So it's important to remember that although suspensions happened, it does not equal to justice. It's a temporary pause and not a prosecution. And I'd also like to speak about Nathim Tetoi. As I mentioned before, he was also implicated earlier on.

He when what happened was a very shocking development within the entire process in September. South Africa's ambassador to France and former minister of police, Natim Tetoi, he was found dead after falling from the 22nd Floor of the Hyatt Regency in Paris. And his wife had reported him missing earlier that day that he was that he that he died, and he had also sent a message to apologizing and expressing his intent to end his life. French prosecutor said the window safety lock appeared to have been tampered with as and there were no signs of a struggle. And no drugs was found in his system.

No substances were found in his system. So while it looks like suicide, obviously, his family, probably because of mourning and grief, they are rejecting that conclusion and according for a full inquiry. Now the the the point that I'm trying to get to is just eleven days before his death, Nketu's name had come up in the Madranga Commission. He was accused of obstructing justice in the Richard and Bluhly case. That case involved the former head of crime intelligence who faced charges of corruption, abuse of office, and interfering in politically sensitive investigations.

Now Teto was said to have blocked disciplinary actions and protected him brutally from prosecution, but now he's gone.

K. Now you you you've flooded us with a lot of information that's gonna be very new to most people who are listening to it, I think. As I said earlier to introduce this, this is very internal to South Africa that none of the names that you mentioned will be familiar to most people, and even the their titles are gonna be familiar. But I think that anyone and everyone who listens to what you just said, one of the first questions that will come to anyone's mind is if we're talking about specifically political killings, what would be the motivation of organized crime to assassinate politicians unless those politicians were active against organized crime? What what would be I mean, generally speaking, if if there's a political killing, it has been organized by a political faction, not by organized crime.

Organized crime might have been hired to carry it out, but someone else has commissioned that crime to be committed, has commissioned that assassination to take place, generally speaking. Unless we're talking about, you know, crusaders against corruption within the politics, you know, council members and so forth, who are crusading against corruption and have gotten on the wrong side of organized crime and mafias and so forth. If that's what we're talking about, that's one thing. But if we're just talking about people who have political opponents getting assassinated, well, it would raise a lot of questions about who would have been motivated to order an assassination like that.

It's a mixture of all. It is about firstly power, very little about wanting that position that that councilor is in or that political person is in, but it has a lot to do with the fact that I'm and and exposing corruption. So that is when you would find that somebody would be then killed because they are the ones that is like you said, they they're crusading against corruption, and they want to unseat it. They want to get rid of that rot, and that is when they are then killed because they are leading this campaign. And they're obviously reaching and and and making a dent in something or some way in the process, and that needs to be stopped at all levels.

And the fact that this type of corruption happens at ground level, which is like your ward councilors and that type of thing, and it also happens in in the senior level, those are your your your that are meant to be the ones that is supposed to uproot those and remove those people that is causing corruption, but they are the ones that are also participating in this. It shows you that it has a lot to do with the fact that our country is a system or is is operating on a system where a law and order is not the order of the day, and it is meant to keep us in perpetual unrest and perpetually fighting each other, focused on crime and not fixing crime because our government is being influenced through policies, economic policies, things that especially from the West. You I can see the mirror of what is happening in South Africa, you look at what is happening in The United States Of America, and there's no ways that somebody that is looking at it can't can't say that it isn't that that it's not the same, that things are not the same when you compare what is happening with police brutality against black Americans.

You can see not that our police is being is is is targeting people the way that it has happened, but the fact that our law enforcement remains corrupt and is perpetually and eternally corrupt just like the the way that The United States Of America does to its own citizens. You can see the same thing is happening in South Africa. So it has a lot to do with the fact that people that influences our government we're talking about, like, the Yuan Lupins and those people, the oligarchs, the capitalists. Those are the people that need us not to focus on how they are extracting wealth for themselves and keeping the country in the chaos that it is keeping it in, which then means that those that are the those that are meant to to to to oversee, you know, the law and order and ensure that it does happen in a country that they don't function and ensure that the system functions to our benefit. It is to their benefit because that is what they need in order to extract what it is that they need from from from South Africa.

Yeah. I mean, this is what I was gonna say also. I was gonna mention, because if you're having if you're having a commission to investigate, they can't prosecute, can they, this commission?

They have not been mandated to prosecute at all.

Okay. So they don't have the authority to prosecute. But it but the the way that it's progressing so far looks like if you get sort of I don't know what the word would be, indicted or if the it's not indicted, of course, because that's a, you know, legal term, but if you get found guilty by the commission of being being someone who's or or or are they just asking for recommending investigations? Like like with the people who you said who have been suspended, pending investigations. So now they have a separate investigative body that's going to look into each individual case of people who've been named in the commission.

Is that it?

Yes. That is it. Basically, what is happening, they're gathering information and evidence. It is a public hearing, so to say, but no prosecution. It will be recommended for further investigation at the National Prosecuting Authority who is being investigated in this commission.

Mind you.

K.

So that they this commission is about themselves investigating themselves.

Right. Which which I mean, historically, what we've when when we see those types of things, obviously, it's not so much a cleaning house operation as it is a brushing under the rug operation or hanging out to dry operation for sort of the sacrificial lambs rather than actually cleaning out corruption while putting on a performance of being anti corruption and and cleaning out the problem. Now, obviously, I don't know if that's the case with this one since as you say, there are there there does seem to be more response than in previous commissions, in previous investigations. I was gonna ask now about the the higher level officials that are named in this. Are they affiliate are they affiliated with any political party?

With the ANC.

Sorry?

With the ANC. With the ANC.

The ANC. All of them.

Yeah. As far as I see, yes.

Okay. Well, that's curious. Are there are there are there are there high ranking officials within law enforcement who are not ANC?

No. I I I I have to I actually have to verify that, but as far as I can remember, no. There is Sorry. The the the army the the the army general, the one that is in charge of the army, he is he's not affiliated with the ANC, but he's not up for investigation. Ah, okay.

Okay. The Freedom Front, if I'm if I'm if I'm remembering correctly, yeah, the far right Not not

the economic freedom fighters.

No. No. No. EFM doesn't manage any of the the

They wouldn't let them have gun they wouldn't let them have weapons.

No. As

we already know by the case that they made against that man, Julius.

Yes. Yeah. Yeah. He's got some legal troubles that he's busy. What you see, you know, that he's busy ironing out.

He was found guilty a few weeks back, like, two weeks back or three weeks back. Hate speech as well as discharging a firearm in a public space. Yeah. So he will he's looking he sent and see what happened in January as far as I can remember. So we'll see how that transpires.

He he would it.

Sorry. What

now? His video footage.

Video footage of him firing the postal?

Yeah. He fired a a firearm in the air during a rally. And then it was about a week or two before that. So, yeah, you know, on on on the on the surface to South Africans, it might look like, you know, the the the the the you know, things are probably going to stop being sorted out. It does look like maybe, you know, perhaps people will be accountable for things, or others would be heavily, heavily pessimistic and and just say, well, absolutely nothing's going to happen.

For me, I would say is once we realize that this is obviously performative, and the problem is that we need to see who is influencing government to ensure that it remains performative, that they do not take the necessary action that they're supposed to. Firstly, you know, they they all in my book, they're all guilty of something because of the history of looking at all of them being in, you know, enthralled and and and and and or in engaged in some sort of scandal where corruption was concerned in the first place. But there is some body or not somebody, not a person, but there is the Western influence of ensuring that they do not sort it out, that they do not ensure that South Africa becomes a country where law that, you know, is respected, where it's not common a common thing or a common occurrence where you know that if you get pulled over by a traffic cop or a police officer, that the chances that you would be able to get away with something that you did wrong with by by by bribing is high because the that's just ground level. That means that the is not just for economic reasons because the one that is in the street doesn't get paid as much as the person, like millions of rands a year, that is their salary for the directors and that of the organization.

Those are just as corrupt as the one that is, you know, you know, that that you will find on the side of the road pulling you over for some traffic fine or whatever. So it it it it's important to understand those that are listening that, yes, it is performative, and it's performative for a reason. It is to make you think because Ramaphosa knew when he went to the White House and that he said that we have a crime problem and that when brought it out and said that there is a a a a a syndicate, a crime syndicate within these organizations that he knows for South Africans, he can't just leave it like that. And, yes, he did call for the commission. This is Ramaphosa.

He did call for the commission, but he is not meant to actually do something to sort it out. He is supposed to be there to ensure that the capitalists are the ones or the OCGSC, you know, as we discuss in vital nation vital nation values, those are the ones that need us to to remain in the situation that we are remaining. And these this this inquiry is only meant to last for six months. That is from the get go. We all know it's only going to happen for six months.

It's not a permanent structure. It's not a permanent fixture. And how much can you uncover of decades of corruption corruption in six months? If you are really going to do something about it, you know, that six month window, it's it's what can you do in that six

months? Why did they why did they put a six month window and not just say, we will continue an ongoing, a permanent commission, Yanivi? Why not make it just a permanent commission?

That's a valid question, which and, you know, it's not an answer that we have and which sends alarm bells in my head. Like, why would you cap why would you time it? Something like corruption, that should be an ongoing thing where people, you know, should be able to contact and say, ten years down the line, this is the permission that we need to speak to to to report this type of corruption and that type of corruption. So, yeah, I don't think it's that

It it it sounds like it was there there might be a foregone conclusion that they know it's gonna take six months to get to. You see what I mean? We we It's it's gonna take six months to just tie it up in a bow to deliver to the public that these are the these are the corrupt ones, and now everything's fine. But the other thing I was gonna ask is, and you've you've certainly touched upon this, is a is a much higher level of corruption. Okay.

You're talking about corruption by organized crime syndicates into law enforcement. But what about the much higher level of organized crime, neocolonial crime, neocolonizers, like the Democratic Alliance, for example, that has very close ties with foreign governments, with foreign investors, with foreign businesses, foreign businessmen, infiltrating government at the highest level. That seems to me to be at least as serious and has the at least as in terms of the magnitude of the impact of that level of what I would refer to as infiltration by really, if not legally criminal, morally criminal organizations like the DA or any individual politician who is actually serving just like you can say that a police commissioner or someone in a high level in law enforcement is actually serving a crime boss or doing things at the behest of a crime boss. Now you can also have governments doing things at the behest of the number one crime boss in the world, which is The United States. So is there any possibility this is a rhetorical question, really.

Is there any possibility of there being a commission that would investigate political corruption and ties by political parties with malicious actors or with with, anyway, non South African actors in terms of proving the transparency of their funding, for example, the transparency of the for the funding of a political party and and and and a a forensic analysis of any correlation between the policies that they endorse, the policies that they advocate, the policies that they push for, and the departments of the government that they want to have control over, that they wanna be appointed into, and the economic and political interests of external actors. Is there any chance that you could have a commission like that that would actually be looking at corruption at the much higher level? Which because of the corruption at a higher level, that's why you see the corruption at the lower level as you mentioned. The corruption at the lower level is a reflection of the corruption at a higher level because as you said, the corruption at the higher level wants to see chaos. They want to see corruption.

They want to see violence. They want to see strife so that no one pays attention to what they're doing. So why can't they have a commission about that? I would think that a lot of South Africans would be very interested in something like that.

Absolutely. I mean, not that it's they I don't think they would ever, you know, want to dig that deep into it all. And and and even DI, they benefit highly from this, and they are very good at narrative. Think America, smaller version when it comes to the DI. They're very good at narrative.

They're very good at Skype counting. When you look at the Western Cape where they seem to be or where they are governing, they have this narrative of the best run city, which is Cape Town. It's clean. It's everything works. But the poverty and you can see the difference between rich and poor.

And services where you are poor, it it doesn't look the same. And and the racism is a right thing. But now the thing that I'm the the the point that I'm trying to make is when you consider in this, Cape Flats where there's gangsterism, violence, I mean, there is constant fear for your life in Cape Town where you have people of color, colored people, black people, any non white people in the poorer areas. They are being gunned down by their peers because of gangsterism. We and then the DA, at the same time saying that Teton is the best managed city in the country, they distance themselves from crime stat, and they say that it is an agency problem.

It's not their problem. They're just there to, I don't know, mow the lawn, cut grass. I don't know what it is that they do, make sure the potholes are fixed. They don't seem to go excuse me?

Now I'm sorry to I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I I just can't help but say it. They mean what they say. They say that's the best run city. That includes the crime. That's the way they want the city to be run.

They mean what

they say.

They want to follow-up.

They're not they're

not being hypocritical.

You said it's it's nonwhite people who are being gunned down by gangsterism. That's the best run city. That's by their definition, the best run city, and they would like all of South Africa to be run that way.

Absolutely. So they are good at hiding themselves from that type of thing. While it is that they, you know, their their leaders are not part of so far that I've noticed that they haven't been implicated in all of this, but I can guarantee you they are involved because because here and there, you will hear a case about corruption, and they're good good at shielding and scapegoating. They're good at protecting themselves via narrative just like The United States Of America does.

Are there any any of the people that you've mentioned? And I'm I'm I am embarrassed to say, but I'm not familiar with any of the names myself, any of the people who have been mentioned, implicated, and who are being investigated by the commission. I'm not familiar with any of these names. I'm I'm sorry to say. I will investigate it myself.

But, anyway, that's what you're here for, to let us know. Are any of them white?

No. None of them. They're all people of color.

I'm shocked.

Or Indian or yeah. I'm shocked. Colored.

Yeah. And and we know that the ANC is losing popularity at a drastic rate. The ANC is losing popularity, and the chances of them being able to return to government the next time, the next time that when is the next election, by the way?

Next year, we have the local government, 2026. So which is why the six month window of investigation should be at the top of people's minds next year when we're supposed to be voting for the local government in our areas. So I think it also has to do with the fact that they would like to finish it off on a high note just before election season starts.

I mean, it's very you know what? We usually see in in formerly colonized countries. What we it's a pattern that the new government takes over and just maintains the colonial system. They maintain it, but on behalf, you know, of their previously, you know, their former colonial masters, their former colonizers, they just maintain the system, and they just get to have the seat be the frontman for enforcing the colonial system, then they can take the the blame for when things go badly. So it wouldn't wouldn't surprise me at all because we know anyway what the colonizers have always said about the people that they colonized and one of their big excuses for why they never want to leave the lands that they colonized was these people can't govern themselves.

These people don't know how to behave. These people are uncivilized. These people are corrupt. These people are violent. And now you apparently, you know, allegedly, you have people in government who are seeing to it that that very stereotype is manifested and is reinforced, which will definitely be used by the DA, by the Democratic Alliance against the ANC because all of those figures, all of those people mentioned in the in this commission, all of them are ANC, as you said.

All of them are nonwhite. So all of them are reinforcing the what we know to be the very racist colonial mentality of the DA. Don't you think?

Oh, absolutely. It it comes back to the thing of wanting to appear as if they are it's got nothing to do with them. My hands are clean. We left it in your hands back in the day, and you just could not do anything. You just actually took us back to a different period where they want to even make it sound sometimes like apartheid was even better.

You know, days were better than yes. Of course, it was better for you guys. It was not better for us. So, yes, that is exactly what they are doing and what they want to do because it is in their interest to make sure that they look good on paper, obviously, except for the people that experience and then have to love under their rule in the Western Cape or in cities that is so you know, that is managed or run by the DA. Because those cities also suffer from corruption.

The municipalities also suffer, you know, because funds that are being siphoned off under the DA's watch, but you don't hear those stories. It's not, you know, it's not pushed into the media and by the very media that is always talking about how corrupt ANC is, but never talking about about how corrupt the DA is, and they are corrupt. On top of that, they are racist.

You mentioned this who was killed or or I'm sorry. Who died in Paris in Paris. Right? Who was the ambassador or former ambassador to to France?

Ambassador at the time. Yeah. He was the ambassador. He was the city ambassador at the time. Yeah.

Okay. Now if that was not a suicide and and the fact that he was named in the commission supports the idea that he might have had a a motivation to end his own life, But, also, there's equal reason or or reasonable cause to also suspect, given the nature of the allegations that are being investigated by this commission, particularly with regards to political killings. There's also it's not unreasonable to think that he might have been assassinated and had had to make make it look like a suicide. But that would raise very serious questions because it didn't happen in South Africa. It happened in France.

So that would either mean that we're talking about global criminal organizations that are operating in France and in South Africa and potentially elsewhere, obviously, who are who have an who are deeply enough involved in South Africa and have interest in everything that's being exposed by that commission or potentially being exposed by that commission, then they would take it upon themselves or would be hired to assassinate this man all the way in someone else's country. And then if you have the French authorities going along with the narrative that he committed suicide, that could potentially implicate the French authorities involved in that, which would make it look like it was actually a political assassination carried out through political channels. So that this becomes a very big conspiracy story. Just the fact that if, you know, if if if he didn't if he if if it's not plausible, I mean, on the face of it, it's plausible that he might have ended his own life on the basis of what he was potentially facing. But if not, that that raises it becomes a much broader issue than even corruption within South Africa.

It does. I mean, that even though there was no evidence found of, you know, any sort of scuffle or anything in his room, that does not mean that he didn't receive any pressure, external pressure, to end his own life, which would mean that, you know, that that that is also important. That is something that needs to be considered. So even if it is that he did take his own life, the chances are extremely high that he was pressured to do it in the first place. It it it is possible that that could have happened.

For me, the the question arises, this is a man that had depositions in South Africa's judicial system. You know, he is accused of corruption. That wasn't the only thing that he was accused of. He's been in the South African government for, you know, a number of years. And if it is that you have been doing this, because it's not some one action that he's being accused of.

There's a number of things that he's being accused of. It for me, it feels like why would you even in your own life, knowing that South Africa is lenient when it comes to accountability? You know that the chances are high that you are probably not even be held accountable because we know history tells us in South Africa that our politicians, our government officials are not really held accountable when it comes to corruption. So that also tells me you know, we there's a lot of things that we need to consider when it comes to why he would take his own life. We don't know what all transpired, but that question in my mind is, you know, South Africa, you can get away with a lot.

So that is not something that people actually that's not, you know, an action that people actually go to and something that people would do just because of and there's a case coming up. It it it doesn't seem as if it fits together nicely.

What's the what what's the general opinion with regards to this in South Africa that he that he ended his own life or he was taken out? What's the general opinion among the people?

Among the people, obviously, a lot of people will jump to that if he was taken out. I think a lot of people will go with that because, like I'm saying, we know that you probably would not be held accountable. There's a high chance, or you would have gotten, you know, a wrap over your knuckles or something like that. Whatever it is that you have been accused of, the chances that you would have really had to pay for what you have done is not you know, it it probably would not have happened. So there are others that don't want to be mentioned.

So the the the a lot of people are feeling that he was taken out, please.

I mean, obviously, we don't know. We can't really speculate. Yeah. He could have had any any number of other personal issues we don't know about, obviously. I was just wondering what's the I mean, when you when you you you are are are in a society where you have now become accustomed to political killings, then it's not a a far jump for you to assume that this was another one, particularly if he's if he's being implicated and maybe potentially would be pressured to name others or to expose things that he's covered up or so on and so on, that it's not it's not unreasonable for people to suspect that there is a conspiracy behind it.

But just for Middle Nation viewers, would just say this is not something that we know. It's pure speculation, and there's not really any point in speculating about it. I just wanted to explore it because it's obviously going to be an issue that people will be talking about. It would be a political discussion probably being had in South Africa. And I would and as I said also, I wanted to point out also that that if there if if he was taken out, if it was a political assassination, we're talking about something that would be very, very complicated to do something like that in France.

A lot of a lot of things would have to align and a lot of factors would have to be at play in order for that to be something that you would do. It's not like taking him out in Cape Town. So just just to say, you know, be reasonable even in your speculation about that with regards to what's factually probable. Now as I mentioned in the beginning, South Africa is a member of BRICS, a founding member of BRICS. It's a very important country to the BRICS organization.

Obviously, it we we're it's very well known globally for being pro Palestinian, for bringing the ICC case and so forth. It's gained a lot of notoriety and respect as a result of the ICC case well, I'm sorry, the ICJ case. As I said, it's a very important country in Africa. It's been important enough to be the target of considerable hostility by The United States under the Trump administration with phony allegations of white genocide against farmers and so on with the these sort of comedic videos that we have of the white farmers coming to have asylum in in America and so on. There's been there's many things that that indicate the importance of South Africa to sort of the global transition.

Can you tell me what you think about the role of a commission like this and the issues that the commission is addressing regardless of it being performative? The issues are real. The the corruption is a real factor, obviously. And even if it is a performative commission, that in and of itself is an example of the corruption. This is a very serious issue towards or touching upon the actual real existing sovereignty of South Africa because if you're law enforcement mean one of the most important things about any sovereign government is that they have full control over enforcement.

You have control over law enforcement. You can establish justice in your country. You have the rule of law in your country. The guilty will be prosecuted. The innocent will be proven so.

Guilty will be punished, and the police are in your hand as the government. No one else has control over what the police do, what the prosecutors do, what the judges do, and so forth. If the if you lose control of the police, if you lose control of the judges, if you lose control of the prosecutors to anyone outside of the state, any private actor outside of the state, whether it's a criminal organization or it's a corporation, then your sovereignty is compromised. So what do you what just give us your thoughts on that on that that reality of South Africa's situation right now.

I think South Africa is not fully captured from in external influences. I think we are probably sitting on a fence. You know? It's a saying in South Africa. We're sitting on a fence on this matter.

Where we are still influenced by the West, especially The United States Of America, but we also are being influenced by our bridge partners, which is a good thing. I think that South Africa, especially ANC and most other political parties, want us to be fully focused on the Brits alliance. And I think we are at a crossroads where we need to decide. It's either or. We can't do both.

And while a lot of citizens in South Africa just want us to just keep The United States Of America out and not even listen to them and not even entertain them. It is difficult to do that as long as the democratic alliance still has a say in our GNU, and they are still within the government. And they are still a party in South Africa, and they're still running the Western Cape. So as long as they are there with that power that they have that within the country, we will still be seeing United States Of America influencing because they are influencing the ANC through what the DA wants. That is how the influence comes through.

And because of needing to work with all parties within the GNU, you know, they they tend to try and bandit to every single political party as well as exerting their own prominence every now and then because you do find that Ramaphosa does, you know, put his foot down and is like, no. This is what I'm doing. Even though it looks like he's making a joke out of it, he does actually, you know, put his he he does put his foot down at certain aspects. For example, the ICJ case, that was he's doing. And there are other things where he looks at it from a humanitarian perspective, whereas DI look at it purely from a capitalistic perspective in line with The United States Of America.

Now for South Africa going forward, we see the world is shifting towards the multipolar world. We see that we are at the forefront. We see that we are being targeted like you all mentioned. And those when we understand that those are reasons not for ego, that we are meant to actually take or act on that and turn our backs away from oppression, which is from The United States Of America and focus solely on contributing to Africa as the regional superpower that we are positioned to be and work with other British nations, the entire global South that is not obviously western aligned, not allies of The United States Of America, because you will still find issues. For example, we had a a little bit of a a a I wouldn't say scuffle, but, you know, there was a bit of a thing with Taiwan a few weeks back where they stopped or they they they they they banned supplying microchips to South Africa.

And our president turned around and said, well, we can go somewhere else, and the ban was lifted. It was temporary. But that obviously has a lot to do with the fact that Taiwan is aligned with aligned with The United States Of America, and it is that the oligarchs within South Africa, the capitalists, the OCGSE within South Africa are the ones that benefit, you know, economically from this. So we see that Ramaphosa makes those moves that shows us there is a humanitarian aspect to it. It shows us that it can exert sovereignty when it matters.