Tony Yengeni has slammed a planned visit by Ukrainian leader to Pretoria, calling it a serious mistake by the government
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky is a “warlord who does not want peace in his own country”, Tony Yengeni, a veteran of South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) and former lawmaker, has said during an interview with RT.
Yengeni expressed strong opposition to Zelensky’s planned visit to South Africa later this month, describing it as “a very serious blunder” by Pretoria.
“He’s not a normal person. He’s a war-monger,” Tony Yengeni insisted. Zelensky rejects peace initiatives in Ukraine, forcibly conscripts young people and is responsible for the deaths of numerous Russian-speaking Ukrainians, he claimed.
“He [Zelensky] doesn’t want to go to elections. He grabs young people in the streets and force them into their military. He’s a bad guy, and I don’t know why he’s coming here,” the former lawmaker added.
South African Presidency spokesperson Vincent Mangwenya confirmed in March that President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to meet with Zelensky, in Pretoria on April 24.
According to several local news agencies, Zelensky’s visit has been criticised by the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and the South African Communist Party, the latter of which claims inviting the Ukrainian leader is inconsistent with South Africa’s stated position of neutrality on the conflict.
Yengeni questioned the rationale of hosting only one side in the conflict while not extending the same invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “What about Russia and President Putin? ...Are we going to invite them to South Africa?”
He recalled that President Cyril Ramaphosa had previously presented a peace proposal for Ukraine in 2023, which was rejected by Kiev, accused Zelensky of remaining “as arrogant as ever.”
Yengeni also noted South Africa’s historical ties with Russia, highlighting that many in his generation had studied in the Soviet Union. He welcomed the upcoming commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, contrasting this with his portrayal of Zelensky as a “fascist” and a “self-confessed Nazi.” He warned that hosting the Ukrainian leader would send the wrong message to both South Africans and the international community.
Earlier, during a press conference in Moscow after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop emphasized that “Ukraine is a sponsor of terrorism.”
