The spokesperson for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Vincent Magwenya, has engaged in a fresh exchange with Nigeria’s High Commission in South Africa over the controversy surrounding the omission of Ambassador Femi Fani-Kayode’s speech during a diplomatic ceremony.

Magwenya described the Nigerian mission’s claim that Ramaphosa intervened in the matter as a lie.

He insisted that the South African President had neither the legal authority nor the political mandate to interfere with the operations and editorial decisions of the South African Broadcasting Corporation.

The latest exchange followed a response by the Nigerian High Commission to Magwenya’s earlier criticism of Fani-Kayode’s protest over the omission of his speech from the live broadcast of his presentation of letters of credence.

In a response to Fani-Kayode’s statement on Friday, Magwenya said on X, “Your Excellency, I deeply regret that I have to address you through a public platform. However, now that you have falsely referenced the President on a matter he has no involvement in, I’m duty bound to clarify your misrepresentation of facts.

“In South Africa the President does not intervene on operational matters at the public broadcasters, neither did he intervene on your behalf. He simply pointed you to @Sophie_Mokoena who was the most appropriate person to raise your grievance with.

“Your Excellency, you refused to speak to @Sophie_Mokoena who would have cleared the misunderstanding with you. I would encourage you, that as you start your tenure in South Africa you meet with SABC to forge a mutually beneficial, respectful and professional relationship.

“The SABC is a public broadcaster. The President carries no legal or political mandate to interfere with its operations or intervene in it’s editorial processes. Frankly, your approach in this regard on a minor operational issue which you misunderstood was grossly inappropriate.

“I wish you well on your tenure and I hope you begin to engage the various aspects of South African society and it’s constitutional tenets constructively.”

However, the Nigerian High Commission, in a response on Saturday, defended Fani-Kayode, saying the ambassador and, by extension, Nigeria had been treated with contempt.

“Our Ambassador, H.E. Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, @realFFK was treated with contempt and disdain and by extension so was Nigeria.

“H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who we have the utmost respect for, did the right thing by intervening. We got the result we wanted. End of story,” the mission said on X.

Magwenya subsequently rejected the mission’s account, insisting that neither Ramaphosa nor the Presidency intervened in the operations of the broadcaster.

“Even when it’s institutionalised, a lie remains a lie. There was no such intervention from the President or the Presidency and there will never be.

“Read our constitution and laws and familiarise yourself with the SABC editorial code. Stop disgracing yourself and your country,” he replied.

The exchange is the latest development in the diplomatic disagreement that began on Friday after Fani-Kayode accused the South African Presidency of deliberately excluding Nigeria’s delegation from the livestream of a ceremony at which Ramaphosa received letters of credence from 15 ambassadors.

The ceremony, held at the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria, saw the Nigerian envoy protest that while the introductions and speeches of 14 other ambassadors were broadcast, Nigeria’s presentation was omitted.

Fani-Kayode said the livestream was suspended when it was Nigeria’s turn and resumed only after he had delivered his speech.

He subsequently said he raised the matter directly with Ramaphosa during a photo session after the ceremony, adding that the South African President summoned the officials responsible for the broadcast and directed them to address the issue.

“Right there in my presence he questioned them and directed them to resolve the issue immediately. Sadly, by then it was too late and Nigeria had been left out,” the ambassador said.

He also thanked Ramaphosa for what he described as his timely intervention, while expressing disappointment over the incident.

However, Magwenya disputed the ambassador’s account, saying Ramaphosa did not interfere with the broadcaster’s operations but directed Fani-Kayode to Sophie Mokoena, whom he described as the appropriate person to address his complaint.

The presidential spokesperson also urged the Nigerian envoy to establish a professional relationship with the SABC and familiarise himself with South Africa’s constitutional provisions.

Hours after the protest, the South African Presidency released the full video of the ceremony, including Fani-Kayode’s speech, on its YouTube page.

In the address, the Nigerian ambassador pledged to strengthen relations between both countries, describing his assignment as an opportunity to rebuild diplomatic ties and address areas of mutual concern.

He also recalled Nigeria’s support for South Africa during its struggle against apartheid and called for closer cooperation between the two countries.

The ceremony marked the first posting of a substantive Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa in four years, according to Fani-Kayode. (PUNCH)