By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Photo Credit: Presidency_ZA.
Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Africa Femi Fani-Kayode, has accused South Africa of deliberately omitting his speech from the live-streamed diplomatic ceremony hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa in Tshwane.
The event took place at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House, where Ramaphosa received letters of credence from 15 newly appointed ambassadors.
Letters of Credence are official diplomatic documents presented to the President by Heads of Mission-Designate who have been nominated by their respective governments to serve as ambassadors or High Commissioners to South Africa.
Fani-Kayode claimed that of all the 15 introductions and speeches delivered, only Nigeria’s was cut out.
Describing the ceremony as historic, the former Minister of Aviation said it marked the first posting of a substantive Nigerian ambassador to South Africa in four years.
However, he claimed that the South African Presidency deliberately excluded Nigeria’s delegation from the broadcast.
Fani-Kayode said he turned down an interview with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the state broadcaster, and told it to listen to his speech. He added that at least two Nigerian television stations recorded the address and would release it.
He described Nigeria as South Africa’s largest trading partner on the African continent.
In response, Presidency spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said via the social media platform X, that Fani-Kayode had “falsely referenced the President on a matter he is not involvement in”.
Magwenya said the president has no legal or political mandate to interfere in the broadcaster’s editorial operations.
Magwenya said Fani-Kayode declined to engage with SABC, which could have resolved the misunderstanding, and urged him to build a constructive relationship with public broadcaster.
Meanwhile Ramaphosa will lead SA delegation on a working visit to Silicon Valley, California from 15 to 21 November 2026, focused on artificial intelligence (AI), digital infrastructure, and technology investment.
Magwenya said Ramaphosa won’t be travelling to Washington and will only go to California’s Silicon Valley, where he will lead a delegation to discuss AI and digital innovation.
But he said Ramaphosa will reach out to President Donald Trump out of courtesy and inform him of his visit to country’s west coast.
Ramaphosa’s trip to the US comes just a few weeks after the Trump administration announced its intention to exclude South Africa from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The duty-free trade benefits for certain South African products will formally end on 1 January.