Probe into Iranian Navy Ships Fiasco Gets High-Level Investigation Panel

Key Takeaways:

• A Board of Inquiry has been established to investigate why President Cyril Ramaphosa’s orders for Iranian warships not to participate in a joint naval exercise were not obeyed.
• The board will be chaired by Judge Bernard Ngoepe and will include two other judges and a retired rear admiral.
• The inquiry will focus on Exercise Will for Peace, which was conducted in January 2026 with ships from several countries, including Iran.
• The board’s findings will aim to establish all the facts around the exercise and determine why the President’s instructions were not carried out.
• The appointment of civilian judges to the board has been welcomed as a sign of an independent inquiry.

Introduction to the Board of Inquiry
The South African government has established a Board of Inquiry to investigate why President Cyril Ramaphosa’s orders for Iranian warships not to participate in a joint naval exercise were not obeyed. The board, which will be chaired by Judge Bernard Ngoepe, will include two other judges and a retired rear admiral. The inquiry will focus on Exercise Will for Peace, which was conducted in January 2026 with ships from several countries, including Iran. The board’s findings will aim to establish all the facts around the exercise and determine why the President’s instructions were not carried out.

The Members of the Board
The members of the board were announced by Defence Minister Angie Motshekga on January 28, 2026. In addition to Judge Ngoepe, the board will include Judge Kathleen Satchwell and Judge Mashangu Leeuw, both of whom are former High Court judges. Retired Rear Admiral Patrick Duze, who has held several top positions in the SA Navy, will also be a member of the board. The preponderance of civilian judges on the board has been welcomed by some as a sign of an independent inquiry, as the members of such boards of inquiry are usually all military officers.

The Inquiry’s Objectives
The board’s inquiry will concern Exercise Will for Peace, which was conducted between January 9 and 16, 2026, from Simon’s Town with ships from the South African, Russian, Chinese, Iranian, and United Arab Emirates navies. Motshekga’s statement said she was setting up the Board of Inquiry "to establish all the facts around the exercise" after a series of reports containing serious allegations concerning President Ramaphosa’s instruction on how Exercise Will for Peace should be conducted. The aim of the Board of Inquiry is to investigate and report on the serious allegations that the President’s instructions may have not been carried out, misrepresented, and/or ignored regarding the participation of the Islamic Republic of Iran during Exercise Will for Peace 2026.

Reactions to the Board’s Establishment
The appointment of the three judges to the board has been welcomed by some as a sign of an independent inquiry. A close observer of the saga welcomed the appointment of the three judges, saying: "It’s outside people, which I hope means a real investigation. I’m taking the win for now that it is a serious heavy-hitting BOI [Board of Inquiry]." However, Pikkie Greeff, national secretary of the SA National Defence Union, raised questions about how the appointees fall under Section 101(4) of the Defence Act, which states that members of a Board of Inquiry should be in the employ of the Department of Defence. Independent military analyst Helmoed Heitman also expressed skepticism about the board’s purpose, saying: "Perhaps I am over-cynical, but I think the purpose is to hide or whitewash the fact that it was within our foreign policy, and to find some officer to throw under the bus."

Key Questions for the Board of Inquiry
Heitman identified several key questions that the Board of Inquiry should investigate, including: Who decided to allow Iran to participate in the first place? And who, after the discussions in Pretoria about Iran’s withdrawal, decided that Iran should continue to participate? The choices, he said, run from Ramaphosa, the National Security Council (NSC), and Dirco to the minister of defence, the chief of the SA National Defence Force, the chief of joint operations, to the general officer commanding joint operational headquarters. Heitman also noted that the Chief of the Navy (Vice Admiral Monde Lobese) and the Flag Officer Fleet do not seem to have been in those decision loops, and that the recommendation by the Chief of the Navy that the exercise continue, after the NSC suggested cancelling it altogether, does not place him in that loop.

Conclusion
The establishment of the Board of Inquiry is an important step in uncovering the truth behind the controversy surrounding Exercise Will for Peace. The appointment of civilian judges to the board is a positive development, as it increases the likelihood of an independent inquiry. The board’s findings will be closely watched, and it is hoped that they will provide clarity on the events surrounding the exercise and the reasons behind the President’s instructions not being carried out. Ultimately, the board’s inquiry will aim to establish all the facts around the exercise and determine why the President’s instructions were not carried out, and its findings will be crucial in determining the next steps to be taken.