South Africa has intensified its diplomatic engagement with the Polisario Front, seeking to ensure the Western Sahara dispute remains prominent on the African agenda despite sharp divisions between Morocco, Algeria and key international partners.
In mid-August, senior South African officials held separate meetings with Polisario emissaries in Accra and Pretoria, underscoring Pretoria’s long-standing support for the Sahrawi cause.
In Accra, Polisario Front representative Abdelkader Taleb Omar met with Jeffrey Radebe, special envoy of President Cyril Ramaphosa and a senior figure in the African National Congress (ANC). The talks took place on the sidelines of the African parties summit. No Ghanaian officials were reported present, signalling the initiative was driven solely by South African diplomacy.
Days later, in Pretoria, a Polisario delegation led by Mohamed Yeslem Beissat attended the African Water Investment Summit on 13–14 August. The group met with Pemmy Majodina, South Africa’s Minister of Water and Sanitation and an ANC member, who discussed opportunities for sectoral cooperation. The exchange provided the Polisario with a platform to reinforce ties with Pretoria in a broader development context.
The meetings come against the backdrop of one of Africa’s longest-standing territorial disputes. Morocco maintains Western Sahara is an integral part of its territory and has proposed an autonomy plan under its sovereignty. The Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, continues to demand a referendum on self-determination under UN auspices, arguing that decolonisation of the territory remains incomplete.
France, a strategic partner of Morocco, has publicly backed the autonomy proposal while calling for continued dialogue under the United Nations — a stance criticised by Algiers and its allies, who say it undermines the neutrality of the process.
Against this contested diplomatic landscape, South Africa has remained one of the Polisario’s staunchest supporters. By raising the issue at international and sectoral forums, Pretoria is attempting to build broader alliances on the continent and keep Western Sahara firmly on the agenda of African diplomacy.
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