Presidency slams Phil Craig’s Cape independence campaign as he plans US lobbying trip

Phil Craig

Cape Town – The Presidency spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, has criticised Phil Craig, leader of the Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG), for leaving Britain and attempting to sow division in South Africa.

Craig, a permanent resident of South Africa, is campaigning for Cape independence and plans to send a delegation to the US to seek diplomatic and financial support for a referendum on the matter.

He confirmed during an interview with Newzroom Afrika this week that the group sent a formal notification on Monday to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, and the Premier of the Western Cape, informing them of their plan to dispatch a delegation to the US to engage with US officials and influential political figures.

“We have written to them just to inform them that we’re intending to go to the United Satets and we are going to lobby for the Cape independence. We take a legal advice – we’ve always been an organisation that stays within the bounds of the constitution and we are pushing for Cape independence democratically, peacefully and legally,” said Craig.

But Magwenya expressed concern over Craig’s actions, emphasising that he was not a South African citizen. He also questioned why he sought citizenship while advocating for the division of the country.

“Phil Craig is not a citizen of South Africa; he’s still a permanent resident and has yet to be naturalised. It is a concern that someone who has left his own country of birth has come to SA to sow seeds of division as he has been doing,” said Magwenya during a media briefing on Thursday.

“On the other hand, you will recall that they tried to register as a party and could not obtain enough signatures; they have limited representativity. What concerns us is the perpetuation of distortions about our country. Whoever welcomes him in the US must be aware that he is not a citizen of South Africa.

“It is perplexing why he seeks citizenship when his views or intentions are to divide the country. We will not allow him to do that. He can travel the world seeking support for his ideas. It will not happen now or any other time.”

According to The Citizen, Craig defended his campaign, saying that he has the right to engage in South African politics, as protected by the constitution.

“My rights, just as for anyone else, are enshrined in the constitution, and I am fully entitled to exercise them. Opponents of Cape Independence should focus much more on the process; when they do, they will realise I am not the issue,” the report quoted him as saying.

Craig denied that the movement is racist and argued that the focus should be on the process of a referendum, where the majority of Western Cape voters should decide the issue.

“We are calling for a referendum of all 3.2 million Western Cape voters. In the final reckoning, what I want as an individual is irrelevant. The question is, what do the majority of the Western Cape people want? In a democracy, we should all be willing to accept that.”

He rejected claims that his advocacy for non-racialism makes him racist.

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