Members of the South African Defence Force (SANDF) attend a remembrance day at the Cenotaph to commemorate the lives lost during the the World Wars I and II, and the other wars, in central Johannesburg,
SARS denies claims that the SANDF was trying to smuggle weapons into Cuba
SARS, together with the SANDF and SA, are firmly denying claims that a chartered flight headed to Cuba was allegedly carrying weapons and ammunition.
Members of the South African Defence Force (SANDF) attend a remembrance day at the Cenotaph to commemorate the lives lost during the the World Wars I and II, and the other wars, in central Johannesburg,
SARS has stepped in to defend claims made in a Sunday newspaper that the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was planning to chart an SAA flight, filled with weapons and ammunition, to Cuba.
The timely cancellation of the SANDF’s SAA chartered flight
Sicelo Mkosi, who is SARS’ spokesperson, confirmed that the SAA flight that was chartered to fly Cuban technicians back to their country has been cancelled.
This comes after SAA had confirmed last week that the chartered flight would, indeed, fly the technicians back to Cuba this week. According to Rapport, 150 Cuban technicians had been commissioned to run a maintenance project on the SA military’s ageing aircraft.
However, the chartered plane carrying the Cuban technicians had been stopped for a mandatory checkup at the Waterkloof airbase after it was discovered that there were a number of weapons and ammunition onboard.
The trio’s response to the allegations
Mkosi has since come forth to clarify the cloud of suspicion surrounding the aircraft:
“SARS wishes to clarify media reports that customs officials discovered R4 and R5 rifles, 7.62mm light machine guns and ammunition onboard an aircraft at Waterkloof air force base last Saturday, 23 July 2018. Our customs officials were working with colleagues in the SANDF to clear the aircraft, and we can report that neither weapons nor ammunition was found during the inspection of the flight and documents [were] presented to the customs officials”.
Tlali Tlali, who is the spokesperson of SAA, had said that the departure of the flight had been delayed due to administrative issues. He also stressed that SAA’s policy on the carrying of live ammunition is always upheld, and this was the case for the chartered plane.
He added that
“SAA policy does not permit the carriage of any items deemed munitions of war, or parts thereof, regardless of the nature of the flight. This means SAA does not transport any arms and ammunition as such items are classified in the category of dangerous goods class (DGC). They are therefore forbidden on our flights”.
Brigadier General Mafi, who is the spokesperson of the SANDF, concurred with the position of SARS and SAA. He stated that
“The equipment in question was heavy vehicle simulators for training purposes and were cleared by customs and ARMSCOR following due process”.
