Minister Angie Motshekga appointed three retired judges and a rear admiral to investigate why the SANDF defied President Ramaphosa’s order to exclude Iranian warships from a recent multinational naval exercise. The preponderance of judges raises hopes of an independent inquiry. Three retired judges and a retired rear admiral will conduct the Board of Inquiry into why President Cyril Ramaphosa’s orders for Iranian warships not to participate in a joint naval exercise earlier in January this year were not obeyed.
Defence Minister Angie Motshekga announced the members of the board on Wednesday, 28 January 2026. She said the board would be chaired by Judge Bernard Ngoepe, a former Judge President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria and member of the Court of Military Appeals. The other two judges would be former High Court Judge Kathleen Satchwell, well known for her human rights advocacy, and Judge Mashangu Leeuw, former Judge President of the North West Division of the High Court and Acting Judge in the Constitutional Court.
Retired Rear Admiral Patrick Duze is the only military officer on the Board of Inquiry. He has held several top positions in the SA Navy, including director of naval policy and doctrine. The preponderance of civilian judges has been welcomed by some as signalling the greater likelihood of an independent inquiry, as the members of such boards of inquiry are usually all military officers.
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The board’s inquiry will concern Exercise Will for Peace, which was conducted between 9 and 16 January 2026 from Simon’s Town with ships from the South African, Russian, Chinese, Iranian and United Arab Emirates navies. Motshekga’s statement said she was setting up the Board of Inquiry “to establish all the facts around the exercise” after a series of reports containing serious allegations concerning President Ramaphosa’s instruction on how Exercise Will for Peace should be conducted. “The aim of the Board of Inquiry is to investigate and report on the serious allegations that the President’s instructions may have not been carried out, misrepresented and/or ignored regarding the participation of the Islamic Republic of Iran during Exercise Will for Peace 2026.” Motshekga originally announced on 16 January, the day Exercise Will for Peace ended, that she had established the Board of Inquiry to report back to her within seven days on why Ramaphosa’s instruction had not been obeyed. In her statement announcing the members of the board on Wednesday this week, Motshekga explained the delay, saying: “In the endeavour to ensure transparency and full independence, consultation with the identified members of the board took longer than expected, thus impacting on the deadline as set.”
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