The Economic Freedom Fighters' (EFF) permanent representative on the Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD), Carl Niehaus, has responded to the committee, providing evidence into the EFF’s claims that South African-made weapons are used by nations embroiled in conflict.
During the recent JSCD meeting on April 4, 2025, Member of Parliament Niehaus called for an end to arms sales to allies of apartheid Israel and urged stricter monitoring of arms exports to nations embroiled in conflict.
His statements have raised significant concerns regarding South Africa's arms control practices.
Minister Khumbudzo Ntshaveni, chair of the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), requested further substantiation of Niehaus's allegations.
He stated: “This letter responds to your invitation during the NCACC’s engagement with the JSCD, for me to provide further information regarding concerns I have raised about South Africa’s arms control practices.
‘Given the public nature of your request, I reserve all my rights as a public representative to make the contents of this letter public.”
Niehaus underscored the importance of South Africa's integrity and international standing, especially regarding its leadership in human rights advocacy.
He highlighted the ongoing case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for genocide in Gaza as a critical issue that warrants urgent action to address potential violations of both domestic laws and international treaties related to arms control.
He elaborated on South Africa's obligations under various international agreements, including the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNRCA), and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW).
According to Niehaus, these treaties prohibit the sale and export of arms to countries involved in armed conflicts or committing human rights abuses, explicitly naming apartheid Israel and Ukraine.
Niehaus asserted that South Africa's moral authority on the global stage is at risk if the government continues to allow arms transfers to these nations.
“The allegations outlined in this letter undermine these principles and threaten South Africa’s moral authority on the global stage.”
He cited evidence indicating South Africa's involvement in arms production for Ukraine, referencing a January 10 report from the US Department of Defense that listed South Africa as a participant in the Ukraine Defence Contact Support Group (UDCG).
He argued that this involvement contravenes South African law, which prohibits the supply of arms to conflict zones.
Rheinmetall’s operations and allegations
He referenced Rheinmetall's plans to expand ammunition production at its South African RDM plants to meet Ukraine’s needs and replenish NATO/EU stockpiles.
A December 2023 press release detailed a significant artillery ammunition order for Ukraine, with RDM’s output contributing to a target of 700,000 rounds annually by 2024.
Niehaus said that since July 2024, RDM has increased its capacity from 100,000 to 150,000 shells annually, operating 24-hour shifts across its South African facilities.
“Rheinmetall operates warehouses in Germany and Hungary, from which it re-exports South African-manufactured shells to Israel and Ukraine.
“This circumvents both South African and German export controls, exploiting loopholes in end-user oversight.” Such actions, he argued, directly undermine South Africa’s ICJ case by potentially supplying Israel with munitions used in Gaza.
International reports and criticism
Niehaus said multiple reports substantiate these allegations, explaining that the investigation in Europe revealed Rheinmetall’s use of South African plants to bypass German export controls, supplying munitions to states with poor human rights records, including Israel.
He said the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre noted Rheinmetall’s failure to respond to UN experts’ calls to cease arms transfers to Israel, risking complicity in genocide.
“The NCACC’s failure to monitor end-user compliance means these arms are likely re-exported to Israel, fueling its genocide in Gaza and directly contradicting our ICJ case.”
According to Niehaus, In 2023, South African arms companies, with NCACC approval, exported R3.3 billion in arms to countries supplying Israel, including the US, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and France. Germany, Israel’s second-largest arms supplier, imported R1.7 billion in South African bombs, shells, and military technology.
He expressed concern: “Allowing RDM to supply munitions to Israel and Ukraine contradicts our vision of promoting a rules-based international order.”
Ethical concerns and systemic failures
He said that Rheinmetall’s complicity in apartheid-era crimes, as documented by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), raises serious ethical concerns about its 51% ownership of RDM.
He argued that this controlling stake grants Rheinmetall undue influence over South Africa’s arms trade, undermining national sovereignty.
Niehaus criticised the NCACC’s inability to enforce End User Certificates (EUCs), stemming from chronic under-resourcing and a lack of follow-up mechanisms.
He added that during a visit on April 4, 2025, to RDM’s Somerset West headquarters, Deputy Minister Bantu Holomisa who is also an NCACC member, failed to question RDM CEO Dr Frank Dirksen about the destination of the increased production of 155mm artillery shells.
“Holomisa raised no concerns about EUC compliance or the ethical implications of RDM’s operations, which risk undermining our ICJ case.”
Commitment to human rights and peace
Niehaus reaffirmed South Africa’s foreign policy, which is anchored in the principles of ubuntu, human dignity, and solidarity with oppressed peoples.
“Our case against Israel for genocide in Gaza demonstrates our commitment to holding states accountable for international crimes.”
He feels that these efforts are undermined when South African arms are implicated in conflicts or human rights abuses, particularly in Gaza, where South Africa's ICJ case demands that the nation uphold the highest standards of international law.
Ntshavheni did not respond to questions from IOL.
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