South Africa Betrays Mandela by Refusal to Vote Against Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Chido Nwangwu bemoans the stance of South Africa in the on-going aggression by Russia against Ukraine

The United Nations resolution on Wednesday March 2, 2022 passed with a very wide gap-141 votes for it and only five votes against, 35 countries abstained.

It simply demands Russia to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.”

Significantly, Nigeria voted for the resolution to condemn the atrocities and extraordinary imposition of violence and bombs and wanton destruction of Ukraine. It’s a war of exponential bombing and shellings to shatter the pysche and the courageous will of the Ukrainians! Alongside Nigeria were Benin, Djibouti, Egypt, Zambia and Ghana.

I am trying to understand the South African national interest which practically incapacitated its moral worthiness that it was unable to vote for or against. South Africa folded into the puny corner of abstaining rather than speak up!! Even the Jihadists from land of the Talibans, Afghanistan, did not abstain. They stood up to be counted —as they voted.

Among the African countries that abstained were Algeria, the Central African Republic, Mali, Namibia, and Sudan.

Is South Africa’s government and leadership unaware of or conveniently dismissed Nelson Mandela’s maxim that “Freedom is indivisible”? You either support freedom of people to chart their own future and direction of their own country or you do not!

Would Mandela have kept quite and looked the other way?
Would Mandela have meandered through the window of technicality while Mr. Putin’s war machine cannibalizes the geography, borders, infrastructure and psyche of the brave but controversial Ukraine?

No; I believe Mandela would have voted against Russia regardless of their support during the anti-apartheid struggle and liberation movement.

Why would the African National Congress (ANC) leadership betray Mandela’s legacy, again and again, this way?
They are the “privileged inheritors of Mandela’s sacrifices, works and goodwill who seem fixated on squandering as much of those as they can” — as I characterized some of them in my summer 2022 book titled ‘MLK, Mandela and Achebe: Power Leadership & Identity.’ MLKMandelaAchebe.com

Unfortunately, the Ukraine border guards, train security and bus managers are engaged in very disgraceful discrimination and racism against mainly African and Indian students and families.
These are happening at the same time they plead for international support for their Ukraine. Regardless, they get a huge percentage of the votes from the African delegation to the United Nations.

Amidst the crisis of dislocation arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the West African country of Ghana has become the first African country to evacuate some of its citizens from Ukraine. They arrived Accra on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.
I must add, for historical responsibility, legacy reckoning and accuracy, that some of the leaders and countries who voted against Russia assert and situate their positions as based on “principles” have been engaged and continue to be involved in several forms of bigotry, genocidal activities and war crimes!

They are double-faced hypocrites and dangerous operators who hold their own country men and women in bondage and invade them whenever they wish, and with iron-fist!

•Nwangwu is the Founder and Publisher of Houston-based USAfrica multimedia networks, first African-owned, U.S-based newspaper published on the internet USAfricaonline.com