South Africa’s Presidency has publicly rebuked Nigeria’s envoy, Femi Fani-Kayode, disputing his claim that President Cyril Ramaphosa intervened after he complained that a livestream of his credentials ceremony left out his speech, and urging him to work constructively with the broadcaster.
Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya responded on X on Friday, November 13, 2026, ValidViewNetwork reports.
Fani-Kayode is Nigeria’s envoy to South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini and a former aviation minister.
THE CEREMONY AND THE COMPLAINT
Fani-Kayode presented his letters of credence to Ramaphosa on Friday at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria.
Ambassadors from 14 other countries took part.
He called the occasion historic and said it was the first substantive Nigerian ambassador posting to South Africa in four years. That is his own claim.
Afterwards, he said on X that the Presidency refused to air his introduction, his delegation and his speech. He said the stream was cut and resumed only after he finished.
He said he raised the matter with Ramaphosa during the photo session, and that the president took him to the relevant officials and told them to resolve it. In his account, the intervention came too late.
Reports also say he declined an interview request from the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), and that at least two Nigerian television stations recorded his speech.
Vanguard reports that the broadcast appeared to suffer a technical interruption while French Ambassador Antoine Michon was speaking. Fani-Kayode was due next, but the stream cut to Ramaphosa’s address to the diplomats.
MAGWENYA’S REBUKE
Magwenya said he regretted addressing the envoy publicly. He said Fani-Kayode had “falsely referenced the President” on a matter in which the president had no involvement, and that he was duty-bound to correct the record.
He said Ramaphosa did not intervene.
The president only pointed the envoy to SABC journalist Sophie Mokoena as the right person for the grievance. Magwenya stressed that the president has no legal or political mandate to interfere in the broadcaster’s editorial operations.
He added that Fani-Kayode declined to engage Mokoena, who could have resolved the misunderstanding on the spot. He closed by encouraging the new envoy to build a constructive working relationship with SABC as he starts his tenure.
PRETORIA’S SECOND VOICE
Clayson Monyela, South Africa’s head of public diplomacy, said SABC News aired Nigeria live during the ceremony. He also cautioned that X is not the right channel for diplomatic grievances.
THE SPEECH GOES ONLINE
About two hours after Fani-Kayode’s protest, at roughly 4:23 pm West Africa Time, the Presidency uploaded a full recording of the ceremony, including his speech, to its YouTube channel.
ValidViewNetwork reports the video includes his full address. In it he pledged to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties, conveyed President Tinubu’s goodwill to Ramaphosa, and recalled Nigeria’s role in the anti-apartheid struggle.
He also described Nigeria as South Africa’s largest trading partner in Africa. Premium Times quotes him saying part of his job is “to reset that relationship, to come and build that bridge.”
AN ALREADY TENSE RELATIONSHIP
Checks by ValidViewNetwork show the row lands on strained ground. Relations have been tense over xenophobic violence against Africans in South Africa.
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Nigeria’s National Assembly froze parliamentary ties with South Africa, and Nigeria and Ghana formed a united front against the violence.
Fani-Kayode was redeployed to Pretoria in May after an earlier posting to Germany was announced. In July he condemned the alleged killing of a Nigerian by South African police.
WHAT IS NOT ESTABLISHED
Neither the Nigerian nor the South African account of whether the livestream skipped his segment has been independently verified. Only the later upload is confirmed.
ValidViewNetwork found no further statement from the Presidency or SABC, and Fani-Kayode has not publicly responded to Magwenya’s rebuke.