Ramaphosa will be first to visit King Charles III
According to reports from London, the new King of England, Charles III will host the first state visit of his reign next month when he welcomes the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa to Buckingham Palace.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife, First Lady Tshepo Motsepe, have accepted an invitation to visit the King. Their visit will take place from 22-24 November 2022. The trip was already being planned before the Queen’s death in September. It will be the first time a South African leader has visited the UK in an official capacity in 10 years, with Jacob Zuma being the last South African head of state to visit the Queen in 2010.
The King seems fond of South Africa having visited Southern Africa on a number of occasions since his first tour of the country in 1997, which included stops in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town. He last traveled to the country in 2011 and it was not a state event.
His mother, the late Queen Elizabeth had a particularly close relationship with Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected president of South Africa. The pair were said to have enjoyed a warm friendship, and unusually, referred to each other by their first names. Mr. Ramaphosa, who has been in power since 2018, is the fourth leader of South Africa since Mr. Mandela.
Analysts believe this is a symbolic gesture by the King to herald an era of multiculturalism. It also seems the new king is reaching out to the Commonwealth members in order to re-energize the organization in the face of Brexit. Pan-Africanists however are of the view that the King is hell-bent on continuing with the neo-colonial legacy left by his mother.
The details of the purpose of the visit are yet to be known and the outcomes are yet to be established. Speculation is rife among Zimbabweans that Zimbabwe could be on the agenda. This is a possibility since South Africa is both a leader in Southern Africa and a close ally of the beleaguered Zanu PF regime in Zimbabwe.
It remains to be seen as to what will be on the agenda and whether Zimbabwe will be affected by whatever the two nations will discuss in Buckingham.
