In a stunning display of geopolitical stupidity, Poland, once known for its dark fascist past, seized the reins of diplomacy last night when it forced South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa onto a perilous and audacious train journey to Ukraine.
Tasked with spearheading Africa’s crucial peace mission, Ramaphosa embarked on a treacherous odyssey to broker a momentous peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
Ramaphosa’s troubles started with another former fascist country, Italy which held the South Africa plane over the Mediterranean.
The aircraft had to turn in cycles for an hour before entering Italian airspace, due to issues with a flyover clearance.
The South African Airways (SAA) chartered plane by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was then held for 10 hours at the Warsaw Airport.
The plane transported President Ramaphosa’s security detail, over a hundred security personnel with heavy gunfire.
They were barred from disembarking from the plane and entering Poland because the authorities demanded original permits for the weapons.
Ramaphosa has since travelled to Ukraine through Poland by train but with a small number of security personnel and without the weapons they carried.
Ramaphosa’s head of security, Major General Wally Rhoode has said the Polish government is sabotaging President Ramaphosa’s security.
“They say we can’t bring a copy of the permits and they want the original. Embassy here thought it is not necessary to have the originals.
“Now all of a sudden, we must have originals, they are delaying us. They [are] putting the life of our President in jeopardy. Because we could have been in Kyiv by now and this is all they are doing. I want you guys to see how racist they are,” Rhoode said.
Ramaphosa is in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as a member of the African Peace Mission which will hold deliberations with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Mission comprises the leaders of South Africa, Zambia, the Comoros, Congo Brazzaville, Egypt, Senegal and Uganda, as representative of a continent that has felt the adverse economic impact of the conflict.
Ramaphosa will later today leave Kyiv en route to St Petersburg, Russia, where the African delegation will engage with President Putin on Saturday, 17 June.
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