'How racist they are...': Ramaphosa security chief alleges sabotage by polish officials at Warsaw airport
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa-led African peace mission to Ukraine and Russia has been off to a rocky start. Ramaphosa's head of security Major General Wally Rhoode has accused the Polish government of racism after the security detail and a contingent of journalists who were meant to accompany the president were not allowed to disembark the South African Airways (SAA) A340 chartered plane.
According to reports, the plane hadbeen stuck on the runway since 1 pm on Thursday, after it landed at the Warsaw Chopin Airport.
“They say we don’t have permits. We have permits; the only difference is now they say we can’t bring a copy of a permit, we must bring the original," said Rhoode in a video that has now gone viral on social media.
“They are delaying us. They are putting the life of our president in jeopardy because we could have been in Kyiv this afternoon already and this is what they are doing; how racist they are…we were sabotaged while we were here,” Rhoode added.
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South African news outlets said the cargo offloaded from the plane was reloaded due to fears of it being confiscated by the Polish authorities.
The SA leader arrived in the European country as part of his African Peace Mission which is attempting to forge a peaceful resolution to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Ramaphosa lands in Kyiv
As per the latest update by Reuters, Ramaphosa and the peace mission arrived in Ukraine amid explosions and fire raids.Mayor Vitali Klitschko also reported explosions in the central Podil district and warned that more missiles were headed towards the capital.
The South African government, however, has not yet confirmed how the situation at the Warsaw airport was resolved.
Ramaphosa is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. The first part of the trip may include a visit to the war-torn region of Buchawhich is one of several places where Ukraine says Russian troops committed large-scale atrocities.
Apart from Ramaphosa, the peace mission includes leaders from Senegal, the Comoros and Egypt. After meeting Zelensky, the contingent is expected to hold the audience of Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Saturday.
The objective of the mission is "to promote the importance of peace and to encourage the parties to agree to a diplomacy-led process of negotiations".
(With inputs from agencies)
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