• South Africa's Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday announced that an independent investigation had found no proof to back up allegations made by the US ambassador to the country that Pretoria supplied arms to Russia. Al Jazeera (LR: 2 CP: 1)
• The panel reported that no evidence was provided to support the claim that weapons were loaded on a Russian ship under US sanctions that was docked at the Simon's Town Naval Base near Cape Town and transported to Russia. FT
• Ramaphosa added the ship was docked at the base to deliver equipment ordered in 2018 for the South African National Defense Force by South Africa's procurement company Armscor. Reuters (LR: 3 CP: 5)
• Appointed amid a diplomatic spat between Pretoria and Washington, the panel headed by a retired judge visited the naval base, obtained evidence from nearly 50 people under oath, and reviewed more than 100 documents. Dw.Com
• This comes as Ambassador Reuben Brigety II convened a press conference in May to claim that the US was confident that weapons and ammunition were loaded onto the vessel Lady R. Wall Street Journal (LR: 3 CP: 5)
• The full report, which also includes recommendations on how to improve communication between ministers and government officials, will not be made public due to its classified status. An executive summary is likely to be made available soon. CapeTown ETC

Establishment-critical narrative:

• The South African government was proven right as there were no arms deliveries to Russia. However, the economic and diplomatic damage caused by the outrageous allegations of the US was immense, seriously harming South Africa's reputation in the world. South Africa will continue to maintain its position of not taking sides in the Russia-Ukraine war, while not allowing itself to be dictated with which countries it maintains friendly relations that serve the interests of its people.
  HeraldLIVE

Pro-establishment narrative:

• While the South African government-appointed commission claims it found no evidence that Pretoria supplied weapons in support of Russia's war against Ukraine, the exact events remain murky. Pretoria may pretend to take a neutral stance in the Ukraine war, but joint military maneuvers with Russia and China, as well as the recent Russia-Africa summit, paint a different picture. These findings will not dispel doubts about the South African government's credibility and neutrality.
  New York Times (LR: 2 CP: 5)

Nerd narrative:

• There is a 50% chance that the ANC will receive more than 50% of the vote in the 2024 South African general election, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
  Metaculus (LR: 3 CP: 3)