DIRCO SLAMS ‘RECKLESS’ REPORT ALLEGING OCTOBER 7 COMPLICITY

Thu 24 July 2025:

Department dismisses claims of collaboration with Hamas as unverified, baseless, and part of a campaign to discredit South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has vehemently denied explosive allegations that the South African government collaborated with Hamas ahead of the 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel. DIRCO spokesperson Chrispin Phiri labelled a blog post in the Times of Israel that amplified these claims as “reckless, unverified, and a dangerously misleading” narrative.

The controversy stems from a blog post by journalist Paula Slier, which highlighted claims made by a UK-based consultant, Justin Lewis. These assertions included a potential $400 million lawsuit being prepared in the United States against President Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing the government of active complicity.

However, Phiri categorically rejected any such involvement, stating, “We can categorically say no. We did not collaborate with anybody. We have no business collaborating with a political party for that matter to do such an egregious act.” He described the 7 October attack as “a very, very, very, very heinous attack on innocent people.”

The government maintains it has no knowledge of any formal legal proceedings in the US. Phiri pointed out that even Lewis himself admitted his claims were “subject to verification” and that Slier later conceded the matter was a “lobbying and advocacy effort based on unverified allegations,” not a formal lawsuit. This ‘reckless’ report has been criticised for lacking journalistic rigour.

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https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22

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Unsubstantiated claims and questionable sources

In a detailed rebuttal, Phiri questioned the credibility of the source, Justin Lewis, whom he described as an individual with a “great propensity for fables and name dropping.” Phiri conducted what he called “rudimentary desktop research” and found that Lewis had previously made similarly sensational, yet unverified, claims, including that Scotland’s First Minister also had prior knowledge of the attacks.

“This individual has a propensity of re-manufacturing fables,” Phiri stated, expressing concern that a “credible journalist like Paulus Clewer found it worthy to publish his claims on her blog and amplify a story from what is quite obviously an individual who has a great propensity for fables.” He argued that if the story “had even an ounce of objectivity, she would have mentioned the First Minister of Scotland as well.”

Phiri views the publication of these allegations as part of a broader effort to undermine South Africa’s international standing and its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He suggested the narrative is being pushed because some would “choose to amplify conspiracies” rather than engage with the “real conversations that the whole world is having around this genocide.” The amplification of the report is seen by DIRCO as a deliberate distraction.

South Africa’s stance, Phiri clarified, is not “an appearance of sympathy to Hamas,” but rather “an understanding of what the Palestinian people have been experiencing over at least 70 years.” He added that South Africa’s case at the ICJ is about the “equal application of international law” and is not based on politics or religion.

Addressing South Africans concerned by the report, Phiri urged the public to “read wide and really go to the bottom of some of these narratives,” and to “demand evidence, let’s demand the facts.” He confirmed that Israel is required to file its response to South Africa’s memorial in the ICJ case by January 2026.