False Bay, SA's silent coup

Last week, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) ignored the orders of its commander-in-chief, President Cyril Ramaphosa, over the participation of Iranian warships in a naval exercise off the Cape.

- William Saunderson-Meyer

There are now panicked attempts to downplay what happened. If Ramaphosa fails to act decisively to snuff out this ongoing SANDF insubordination, South Africa’s political complexion will eventually change fundamentally, perhaps irreversibly. In time, as has happened in so many parts of the continent, we risk drifting into some form of military government.

Last week’s naval exercise out of False Bay shows that the slow tilt over the past year or so towards a politically assertive SANDF is continuing apace. Will for Peace 2026 (WFP) is a rebrand of the controversial Mosi III exercise that was scheduled for last year, but was “indefinitely postponed” because of the bad optics of SA joining Iran, Russia and China in manoeuvres, while simultaneously hosting the leading Western nations at the G20 summit in Joburg.

So, what could possibly go wrong with a rerun of Mosi III, now under the alias of Will for Peace 2026? Only this: the Iranian regime slaughtering unarmed citizens and President Donald Trump threatening retaliation, all while South Africa’s preferential access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act sits in the balance.