Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Femi Fani-Kayode, has accused the South African presidency of deliberately excluding his address from the livestream of a diplomatic ceremony attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Fani-Kayode made the allegation in a post on X after Friday’s presentation of Letters of Credence at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guest House in Pretoria, where representatives of 15 countries presented their credentials to Ramaphosa.
He said the livestream was interrupted while France’s ambassador, Antoine Michon, was speaking before switching to the South African president’s address. The broadcast allegedly resumed after Fani-Kayode had finished speaking, leaving Nigeria as the only country whose representative was not featured.
The former Minister of Aviation described the omission as deliberate, suggesting that some individuals in South Africa were uncomfortable with Nigeria’s presence.
He said he confronted Ramaphosa during a photography session after the ceremony. According to him, the president took him to the officials responsible, questioned them and directed them to address the problem. However, Fani-Kayode said the intervention came too late.
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The envoy also disclosed that he declined an interview request from the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in protest against the treatment of Nigeria’s delegation.
He promised to release recordings of his address, which he said were made by two Nigerian television stations, as well as footage of his exchange with Ramaphosa.
The incident comes amid diplomatic tensions over xenophobic attacks and hostility towards foreign nationals in South Africa.
At the inaugural Nigerian Fair in Johannesburg on November 7, Fani-Kayode called for stronger bilateral relations despite concerns over attacks on Nigerians and other African nationals. Nigeria and South Africa had also held high-level talks in Abuja on July 27 to address xenophobia, migration and the treatment of Nigerian citizens.
Fani-Kayode assumed his diplomatic duties on October 30, 2026, after submitting copies of his credentials to South African foreign affairs officials. Friday’s ceremony marked the formal presentation of his original Letters of Credence to Ramaphosa.
The South African presidency had not publicly responded to the allegation as of the time of filing. There was no independent confirmation that the livestream interruption was deliberate.