Liberation Movements Summit calls for silencing the guns, no arms manufactured in SA to Ukraine

Convenor of the Liberation Movements Summit 2025 and Secretary-General of the ANC Fikile Mbaluladelivered a report on the state of Liberation Movements and key challenges on Sunday in KemptonPark. The Summit, being the first of its kind, held its third and final day on Sunday brought together theANC, FRELIMO, SWAPO, MPLA, CCM, ZANU PF and fraternal parties for the adoption of the SummitDeclaration, reaffirming a shared commitment to unity, justice and development.

Mbalula said the Summit held robust engagements on the theme: “Defending the Liberation Gains, Advancing Integrated Socio-Economic Development, Strengthening Solidarity for a Better Africa.” Addressing the Liberation Movements Summit, Mbalula said, “we reject all forms of foreigninterference, neocolonialism and digital imperialism, and assert our collective right to shape ourdevelopment on African terms.””We gather here at a time when the world trembles under the strain of wars old and new — inEurope, in the Middle East, and still, heartbreakingly, in parts of our own continent. As the AfricanNational Congress, the oldest liberation movement on this continent, we carry not only the memoryof struggle, but the duty to help forge peace wherever conflict threatens human dignity.”

He said the ANC reaffirm “unwavering support for the African Union’s landmark initiative — the’Silencing the Guns’ Agenda — which aims to end all violent conflicts in Africa by pursuing inclusivedialogue, disarmament, and peace-building. The spirit of this resolution is not constrained to Africa’sborders. It is a principle — a moral imperative — that guides our conduct in the world. “It is within this context that the ANC calls for a peaceful and negotiated settlement to the Russia- Ukraine conflict. We have been clear, consistent, and principled in our belief that no durable peacecan be built through weapons alone, and no justice can emerge from the smouldering rubble of war. Peace cannot be outsourced to artillery.

“As the ANC, we have therefore taken the decision — in line with South Africa’s constitutional valuesand foreign policy traditions — that: No South African arms manufacturer, whether private or state- owned, shall be permitted to export arms or ammunition to the theatre of war in Ukraine. Thisposition is not anti-European. It is pro-peace,” he added. Mbalula said the significance of the Liberation Movement as a political platform is that it is thepolitical soul of our shared interests, which often are arrayed against the forces of counter revolution, neo-colonialism and imperialism. Mbalula’s remarks follow concern over the increasing arms sales by manufacturer Rheinmetall DenelMunition (RDM), which stands accused of supplying weapons produced at its Boksburg plant toUkraine and Israel — in violation of national laws prohibiting arms sales to conflict zones.

Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM), the South African subsidiary of German-based Rheinmetall , hasbeen awarded the largest ever order in its history, worth hundreds of millions of euros, for 155 mmAssegai artillery rounds and charges. The contract, signed in the second quarter of 2025, is with an undisclosed European NATO memberstate, according to Rheinmetall’s official website. Deliveries are scheduled to begin this year andcontinue through the end of 2027. Rheinmetall has publicly confirmed plans to expand ammunition production at its South African RDMplants to meet Ukraine’s needs and replenish NATO/EU stockpiles.

In addition to activists staging protests outside the firm’s Boksburg offices, members of Parliamenthave expressed concerns consistently highlighted the risk that arms sold by RDM to NATO nationssuch as Germany, France, the UK, the US, and Hungary—are transferred to Israel and Ukraine used toreplenish NATO stockpiles, enabling these countries to supply weapons. In April 2025, members ofParliament supported efforts to raise concerns with the National Conventional Arms ControlCommittee (NCACC), pointing out the need to enforce end-user certificates, which allows theseweapons to potentially reach Israel and Ukraine unchecked.

Parliamentarians said the move by Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) undermines South Africa’ssolidarity with Palestine and Russia, and the pursuit of justice at the International Court of Justice. Parliament called for accountability to ensure arms trade aligns with justice, human dignity, and thevarious international arms control agreements to which the country is a party. The Liberation Summit received messages of support from diplomatic missions including the Republicof Cuba as well as fraternal political parties including the National Liberation Front of Algeria, PolisarioFront of the Western Sahara, Al Fatah of Palestine, Sandinista National Liberation Front of Nicaragua, and the Communist Party of China, United Russia and the CommunistParty of Russia.

Dr Eric Hamm, a professor of political science and strategic researcher said increasingly, Ukraine isdemonstrating an aggressive policy that goes far beyond its region. “Kyiv opened several new embassies on the African continent. Measures that did not lead to a realstrengthening of diplomatic ties. Moreover, African countries began to express concern aboutdestructive activities related to Ukraine.”In August 2024, the foreign ministers of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger formally complained to the UNSecurity Council, accusing Ukraine of supporting armed groups destabilising the Sahel region. The statement was a serious accusation pointing to Kyiv’s involvement in promoting internationalterrorism, a problem that affects millions of people in African countries.