Colonel Chris Wyatt slams SA’s “venomous” and “lying” politicians…
In his latest interview with BizNews, United States intelligence analyst, retired Colonel Chris Wyatt, calls the City of Johannesburg's decision to rename Sandton Drive – where the US consulate is – in honour of Palestinian activist Leila Khaled "an own goal of epic proportions". He says: "It's being done now intentionally to insult the United States…it shows you just how venomous some politicians are in South Africa." He also gives his take on the expulsion of SA's US Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool for race baiting, and berates members of the government for "constantly lying about things". Wyatt says US President Donald Trump has been "incredibly reserved" in his actions against South Africa. "…and his reward, constant bombardment; being called the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan by the EFF who can't even spell Ku Klux Klan. You know, it's beyond the pale." He further comments on Trump pulling Hunter Biden's Secret Service Protection after he was spotted with his detail on holiday in Cape Town.
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Edited transcript of the interview ___STEADY_PAYWALL___
Chris Steyn (00:00.834)
South Africa's bad relationship with the United States is making headlines across the world almost daily now. We get the latest from United States intelligence analyst, retired Colonel Chris Wyatt. Welcome, Colonel.
Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (00:15.325)
Hey Chris welcome wow you know things have been so slow what are we gonna talk about today.
Chris Steyn (00:19.95)
I was just going to ask you what are the latest whispers from Washington following the expulsion of our ambassador?
Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (00:29.491)
Well, what's interesting is a lot of South African politicians seem to think that South Africa is front and centre for the U.S. policy establishment. As I tried to warn the policymakers in South Africa, there's Gaza, there's Ukraine, there's DOGE and cutting the budget. There's all these other things. And somewhere way down here below Trevor Noah in importance is South Africa. But apparently South Africans think that me, me, me, me, me pay attention.
Well, guess what? Now you've got Washington's attention and not in a good way. This is really unfortunate for us South Africa relations. Ebrahim Rasool has really opened his mouth and stuck his foot deeply inside. And of course, instead of dealing with his deeply offensive and race, racial comments, he said about America and our president, the South African press is running cover right now by and large going, well, it was undiplomatic. They didn't do it properly. And even lying about how he was dismissed. We did do it properly. We followed the…conventions. And suddenly newspapers in South Africa discover what the …. conventions are when I know they have no clue what they're talking about.
Chris Steyn (01:27.63)
Now, another controversy is raging and this time over the City of Johannesburg's decision to rename Sandton Drive in honour of Palestinian activist Leila Khaled. Of course, the U.S. consulate is on that street, Chris. Are we looking at its closure if that goes ahead?
Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (01:48.308)
Well, that building is quite expensive. I don't know if we're look at this closure. I think frankly, if they do change the name to name it after Palestinian terrorist who kidnapped or hijacked a flight back in 1969, became famous by putting people's lives in jeopardy. If people hail people who behave in such a fashion, that questions their judgment.
Of course, this goes back to 2018 when this was first approved, but it hasn't been done since then. It's being done now intentionally to insult the United States. This woman is of no value whatsoever to rational people around the world. And this is just intentional. But if they do go ahead with a name change and start putting the signs up, I imagine United States embassy would simply find another location and rent a small place with an address. And that would be the new address of the American embassy. Their mail will be delivered there instead of on Leila Khaled Drive.
And this is an own goal of epic proportions. And it shows you just how venomous some politicians are in South Africa.
It's absolutely ridiculous. This sort of nonsense.
The United States supported South Africa's liberation movement openly in the 1980s to end Apartheid and this is the reward we get for it from evil behavior.
Now, I think it's beyond the pale and it's another effort to insult America while the South African media and politicians running around and saying, oh we don't understand why the relationship was bad with America. Well, this is just another example of it. This isn't to venerate this woman. There are plenty of streets that can be named. This is one of the most important roads in all of Johannesburg and as you mentioned, the American Consulate is located at number one Sandton Drive.
What's the purpose of change this. It is like changing William Nichol? What was the purpose of that? Just, just to waste money. People are hungry. The streets are falling apart. Potholes are everywhere. Electricity doesn't work. The world's largest manmade forest is Johannesburg; it is in jeopardy of collapsing completely. And this is where these councillors devote their energy. I saw the session last week, the Joburg City Council, the behaviour there and idiots from Pan African Congress and EFF spent their time complaining about a kippah that a Jewish member of the council was wearing rather than focusing on the needs of Johannesburg citizens. It's really sad.
Chris Steyn (03:48.142)
Well, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa, engagements are continuing with the United States. Can the damage be undone, Colonel?
Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (03:58.056)
Well, it can always be undone. That's not like anyone's firing missiles at each other or rockets or artillery rounds. Thank goodness. Well, we won't have much to worry the condition of the SANDF is in, it's not going to be much of a threat to even to Eswatini, let alone to the United States at this point. But the bottom line here, and that's not an insult folks, people in SANDF know that comes from position of concern for them. They've been under budget and under resourced for years. But no, it's not broken.
Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (04:24.499)
You know, it's interesting to see the complaints we hear in Parliament. It's Julius Malema chairs this on the floor. Well, you know, the Americans, Americans have done this and they've insulted us and they've been aggressive towards us.
And all we did was cancel foreign aid to the whole world and South Africa acted like they were the only ones that happened to and kept insulting Trump. And this is what happens. You know, Trump has been incredibly reserved.
Let's, let's put this in play for a second. What has happened? Well, the United States has not kicked South Africa out of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, a duty free access to our marketplace which gives us no reciprocity; we don't get the same advantage we give it to you, and we have not kicked you out; you're not even legally in it because South Africa passed the Expropriation without Compensation Act which abrogates private property rights and that's a key tenant of our public law. Legally Trump has no choice but to kick you out of AGOA. He hasn't done it.
He has done, has he imposed tariffs? He has put tariffs on everybody. On Denmark he threatened it, he put it on Canada, he put it on Mexico, he's put it on European allies because their treatment of us tariff wise. South Africa doesn't give the same treatment and we haven't implied tariffs to South Africa. He's been incredibly reserved when it comes to South Africa and his reward, constant bombardment being called the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan by the EFF who can't even spell Ku Klux Klan. You know, it's it's beyond the pale.
I would recommend that some of these people keep running around South Africa to shut up cease and desist. Otherwise you're to get exactly what you want, which begs the question. Do these politicians want South Africa to be sanctioned, to be tariffed, to be in such a poor state of relations with the United States? One begins to wonder if that's the plan because I mean, either that or we're dealing with the dumbest box of rocks on the planet. People have no understanding.
We have members of your government constantly lying about things. Ronnie Lamola going on Deutsche Welle telling people that every country in world has expropriation without compensation. Our Fifth Amendment to the Constitution expressly forbids expropriating property without just compensation. You know, it's not helpful.
We need adults in room. I spoke last week with General Bantu Holomisa and we talked about this and both of us said, hey, we both agree that adults need to be in the room on both sides. Get in a room, get around the table and work this out, talk your differences out because it's no good. Frankly, it doesn't do much harm to the US,…
Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (06:36.071)
…but it certainly harms South Africans.
And what happens less than 24 hours after our conversation, both of us said, hey, we made progress. If we can talk like this, maybe the government of South Africa can do the same with Washington. And Ebrahim Rasool does what he did and it just, it never ends. But it's not over, it can be fixed, but we need people to start behaving.
Chris Steyn (06:55.948)
Now, President Donald Trump has ruined Hunter Biden's South African holiday. He's pulled his Secret Service Protection after he was spotted with his detail in Cape Town. All 18 of them, apparently, a day.
Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (07:12.179)
Well, I don't know if he ruined his vacation. How does it ruin your vacation? Maybe the bodyguard's not standing over you on the beach or is it actually an improvement? Now what he's done is first off, Trump obviously didn't even know about this. A journalist, this is funny. Journalists are driving the news cycle now because they're telling Trump about things he didn't even know about. I said, oh, where's he at? South Africa. Oh, I'll have to take a look at that. And the next thing you know, and not only take a look, but the reporter's the ones that said, hey, he's got 18 Secret Service agents. Which is not unusual. It's standard practice: The first six months after a former president leaves office, their extended family will typically be granted Secret Service protections for up to six months.
Well, I think the problem here is that Hunter just saw his access to the VIP lounge removed and that's gone now. Not just him, but also Ashley Biden lost her 13 agents. This is just an example of how much money we spend on people. And this guy is a convicted felon, a convicted felon, a man using dangerous…, a man not authorised to have a firearm, who had a firearm, who has not been charged with the subsequent crimes because his father illegitimately pardoned him. And by the way, that pardon, the president is challenging that, not the pardon, but the fact that it was signed by a machine or signed by someone, not the president, which would make it illegitimate. It's a very historic situation in which the president's challenging not the power of the pardon, but the way it was done, which would make it illegal.
Chris Steyn (08:34.934)
Any last thoughts Colonel?
Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (08:38.579)
Yes, let's have some nice positive thoughts here. The United States and South Africa are not enemies and the United States and South Africa can work and get along. But we need the social media glitterati to knock it off. We need opposition politicians who are desperate for attention. Ooh, me, me, me. What can I call the Americans to get attention in the press? And we need the dishonest press in South Africa to stop being lazy and start doing basic modicum of research, reporting falsely just because Ronnie Lamola told people something doesn't make it true.
The United States did in fact deliver a diplomatic note for Ebrahim Rasool. He didn't show up at the Department of State where he was summoned to. And all the way you do get summoned, just ask Ruben Brigety. He was summoned to DIRCO and he had to answer for what he said, which is completely different, but he went there. Diplomats are summoned and they arrive. He was unable to make any time on a Friday, but the deputy chief of mission for the South African mission showed up there. But the media chose to listen to Ronnie Lamola instead of doing basic research and finding out how the Vienna Conventions work.
And today I see another story being run by a media outlet saying this violates the tenets of it, no, it's nonsense. Stop the nonsense. Let's behave like adults. Let's get in a room because the people that will be hurt by this, not Americans, except for a few business people, a few people who import stuff, the people who will suffer and the people who already suffering as a consequence of the actions of your government, Chris, are South Africans. And that's heartbreaking. Whether they're people waiting for anti-retrovirals or people who are getting support because US is paying for anti-gender-based violence or people who want to expand businesses or people who want to travel to America. This is all nonsense.
There's no ill will between South Africans and Americans. Let's get along and let's get our politicians to shut up, sit down and behave like adults, which seems to be almost impossible this day and age.
Chris Steyn (10:19.928)
Thank you. That was Colonel Chris Wyatt, United States intelligence analyst, now retired, speaking to BizNews on the latest developments on the deteriorating relationship between the US and South Africa. Thank you, Colonel.
Colonel (Ret) Chris Wyatt (10:36.382)
You're very welcome, Chris. My pleasure.
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