In whose interest was navy boss Lobese acting?

There was an instruction from President Cyril Ramaphosa, and agreement between all parties concerned, that Iran was no longer going to participate in the navy exercises in Simon’s Town and False Bay, according to his spokesman Vicent Magwenya.

Though the Presidency and Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) were not involved with the planning of the military exercises from the outset, there were discussions about it, but these were ignored.

South African Navy chief Monde Lobese is expected to face the consequences of seemingly fobbing off Ramaphosa’s instruction.

“The instruction from the President and the subsequent discussions that followed, and the agreement with all concerned parties was that Iran was no longer going to participate in the drills,” Magwenya said.

“The board of inquiry [to investigate whether the President’s instructions were ignored]

will, therefore, look at what transpired from the time the instruction was given by the President via the Minister to the time the exercise started,” he said.

“This is an area that is managed by the military commanders in line with various agreements of defence cooperation,” he added.

Ministers close to Ramaphosa claim that the president was livid when he learnt through the media that Iran was participating in the exercises and had not been relegated.

“He must first be asked who gave him the permission to host Iran on our waters and who did he consult with the government about this? Secondly, why are they explaining after the fact in that letter?”

A senior government source close to the President said: “Lobese wants to cause a crisis for the country and the question here is, has he not gone rogue?”

The source went further to question whose interest was Lobese serving. “We must ask whether this guy [Lobese] is not acting maliciously against the interest of the country. “His conduct is very questionable.”