Ramaphosa issued the instruction following a warning from the US that Iran’s participation could harm South Africa’s international standing.
The board of inquiry tasked to investigate the participation of Iran’s navy in the ‘Will for Peace’ naval exercise, despite a directive from President Cyril Ramaphosa instructing Iran to withdraw, includes experienced judges and a rear admiral.
On Wednesday, 12 days after Defence Minister Angie Motshekga announced the probe, the board of inquiry and the official to chair it were finally appointed.
Motshekga announced that the board of inquiry, which includes Judge Bernard Ngoepe, Judge Mashangu Monica Leeuw, Judge Kathleen Margaret ‘Kathie’ Satchwell, and Rear Admiral (Junior Grade) (rtd) Patrick ‘Lucky’ Tamsanqa Duze, would report back within seven days.
The board will be chaired by Ngoepe.
Judge Ngoepe
Ngoepe served as Judge President of the North and South Gauteng High Courts until October 2012. He has since remained in the public eye both in his role as Unisa’s chancellor and as South Africa’s first tax ombudsman.
He completed his junior law degree (B. Luris) in 1972 at the University of the Limpopo, and later graduated with an LLB from Unisa.
In 1993, he was appointed as one of eight legal experts tasked with drafting South Africa’s interim constitution.
ALSO READ: Presidency confirms Ramaphosa’s instruction to Motshekga that Iran exit naval drills
Leeuw
Judge Leeuw is a distinguished South African jurist and trailblazer, best known as the first female judge president appointed in South Africa, taking the helm of the North West High Court on 29 April 2010.
With a career spanning over four decades, she was the first black woman to join the Pretoria Bar for pupillage (1990) and later served as a High Court judge (1999) and acting judge in the Constitutional Court (2014).
She began her career as a prosecutor in 1978, later becoming a regional court senior control prosecutor and a state advocate in the Bophuthatswana High Court.
Satchwell
Judge Satchwell has extensive experience in civil rights litigation and human rights advocacy.
She was a student activist at Rhodes University during the apartheid years, who played a supporting role for Steve Biko and other detainees.
Satchwell is also known for her leadership of the Satchwell Commission in road accident compensation reform.
She obtained a Master’s in anthropology and African languages and later an LLB from the University of South Africa.
Duze
Rear Admiral Duze is a distinguished former officer in the South African Navy with a career defined by leadership in naval maintenance and high-level strategic oversight.
He is often referred to by his nickname ‘Lucky’ within the military community and is recognised as a key figure in the South African Navy’s heritage.
The board will be probing why a directive from Ramaphosa for Iran to withdraw from the navy drill was ignored, misrepresented or not carried out.
Ramaphosa issued the instruction following a warning from the US that Iran’s participation and the presence of three Iranian warships off False Bay could harm South Africa’s international standing, particularly from the US. He also raised concerns about political costs for the country.
Iran’s participation in the drills, which included China and Russia, was heavily criticised amid that country’s clampdown on anti-government protesters.
ALSO READ: Motshekga at sea over Iran
