NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 16 — After a prolonged standoff with Polish authorities that lasted over 24 hours, the chartered plane carrying President Cyril Ramaphosa’s security detail and journalists has finally been granted permission to leave Warsaw Airport.
This is after the necessary permits to depart Poland were obtained, allowing the aircraft to proceed with its journey.
Amanda Khoza, a Sunday Times Presidency Correspondent, and part of the media crew on the flight, confirmed the clearance.
“The necessary clearance to leave Warsaw, Poland, to Rzezouw has been obtained. We are now preparing to leave,” Khoza stated.
While providing an update on the Ukraine-Russia peace mission the South African Presidency Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya described the treatment of the Presidential Protection Unit (PPU) and journalists by Polish authorities as “deeply disturbing.”
However, Magwenya assured South Africans that President Ramaphosa had safely arrived in Kyiv and that the impasse at the airport had not compromised his safety.
In efforts to resolve the situation, Magwenya stated that they are engaging with Polish authorities to enable the South African journalists to cover at least the Russian leg of the peace talks and the remainder of the trip.
“The treatment received by PPU members and journalists in Poland, on board the South African charter flight, is regrettable. Our officials continue to work with their Polish counterparts to resolve the situation,” Magwenya affirmed.
Train arrival
Meanwhile, while the team in Poland dealt with the delay, President Ramaphosa arrived in Ukraine on Friday as part of his mission to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.
The South African Presidency confirmed Ramaphosa’s arrival on Twitter, sharing a video of him alighting from a train upon his arrival at Nemishaeve Railway Station in Ukraine.
President Ramaphosa, along with Senegal’s Macky Sall, Zambia’s Hakainde Hichilema, Comoros’ AZALI Assoumani, and delegations from Egypt, Congo-Brazzaville, and Uganda, is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy before proceeding to Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Saturday.
However, at the time of Ramaphosa’s arrival in Ukraine, his security detail, the Presidential Protection Unit (PPU), and accompanying journalists were still unable to disembark from their plane in Warsaw and remained stranded for over 24 hours.
Major General Wally Rhoode, the Head of the PPU, revealed that Poland initially denied them permission to disembark due to concerns over the validity of permits to transport their weapons through the country.
Rhoode explained that when they began opening the cargo carrying their weapons, Polish authorities insisted on confiscating them, prompting the PPU to secure them once again.
Major General Rhoode indicated that they had been in communication with Polish authorities for the past two weeks regarding the trip and speculated that the ordeal may have been an act of sabotage.
“We don’t know what changed; we were shocked when we landed here,” General Rhoode stated during a press briefing on Thursday at Warsaw Airport.
