South Africa's Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party called for the recall of the South African ambassador to Poland and the downgrading of the Polish embassy in Pretoria.
This came after Polish authorities denied access to Poland and Ukraine to the South African presidential security detail and the media team accompanying the African Peace Initiative Mission.
Polish authorities prevented security personnel and journalists from leaving the Warsaw airport for more than 24 hours after their plane landed there to continue the trip to Kiev by train with the delegation. As a result, they could not get to Ukraine or Russia with the African leaders' mission.
The EFF denounced the incident as "racist and a constraint on human rights and the media's freedom" and called on the government of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to take decisive action in response to the "detention" of the security and media crews "on a flight and then refusing them their journey forward to Ukraine and thereafter Russia."
"The South African head of state had to travel to Kyiv in a compromised state, in a war zone, without his security detail. This is an unacceptable and deliberate form of humiliation," the party said. "The EFF calls on the government not to respond to this lightly, but defend our sovereignty and dignity by recalling our ambassador to Poland, and downgrading the Polish embassy in South Africa."
Commenting on the blockade of South African security and media personnel, President Ramaphosa's head of security, Major General Wally Rhoode, condemned the "racist" Polish authorities for "putting the life of our President in jeopardy".
On Monday, South African presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya acknowledged that Thursday's incident at the Warsaw airport was "very unfortunate and deeply regrettable," but insisted that it had not compromised the success of the African peace mission or the security of Ramaphosa.
"I'm relating to you that the president at all times was safe and at all times, there was no threat to his life or that of his delegation, equally that applies to other heads of states that were there," Magwenya told the media.
On June 16 and 17, a delegation of seven African countries, which included the presidents of Zambia, Comoros, Senegal, South Africa, the prime minister of Egypt, as well as envoys from the Republic of Congo and Uganda, visited Ukraine and Russia within the framework of the African Peace Mission.
The African leaders held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky before heading to the Russian city of St. Petersburg, where they met with President Vladimir Putin.
On behalf of the delegation, South Africa's President Ramaphosa outlined on June 17 a plan of 10 principles to lay the foundation for the peace process in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Ramaphosa later noted that it had been agreed that the Mission would continue relevant consultations with the Russian side at the Russia–Africa Summit in St. Petersburg in July.
Meanwhile, similar consultations would be held with Zelensky in the period leading up to the Russia-Africa summit.