Dr. Kwame Amuah, a son-in-law of Nelson Mandela, broke the sound barrier Sept. 27 when his op-ed warning of the escalating threat of nuclear war was published by Independent Online. He writes: “Regrettably, at the 79th UN General Assembly, African leaders … failed to highlight this grave and existential danger to the continent. South Africa should have used its founding membership of BRICS to sound alarm at the prospect of nuclear Armageddon. Africa and its citizens are literally sitting ducks in case of nuclear warfare.”
His article “breaks the sound barrier” in Africa. The African press has been almost entirely silent about the threat to Africa and all humanity of a possible thermonuclear war between great powers, possibly through the misconception that such a war would not affect Africa.
But there is more. His Sept. 27 op-ed, published by IOL, the major platform with a BRICS orientation, has also been reprinted by other major South African platforms of the anti-BRICS establishment, TimesLive and MSN, along with some minor platforms. SA Breaking News posted a link to it on X the same day. Of no little significance, this occurred despite the fact that Dr. Kwame Amuah’s name, when it comes up, has generally been demeaned or slandered by the anti-BRICS mainstream media.
Dr. Amuah blames Russia and the U.S. for the current danger, and writes: “The conflict in Ukraine has raised concerns about nuclear escalation, with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin warning that NATO supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles would cross a ‘red line,’ potentially triggering nuclear retaliation…. Putin recently addressed Russia’s Security Council, outlining changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine. He stated that any conventional attack on Russia, supported by a nuclear power, would be regarded as a joint assault on the Russian Federation.
“Despite being a nuclear-free zone, Africa is not immune to the devastating effects of nuclear war…. Hundreds of detonations within minutes would cause millions of deaths and injuries, radiation, heat, and blast effects would destroy entire cities, and global climatic changes would lead to nuclear winter.”
He proposes a road map to address Africa’s vulnerability to nuclear war which includes promoting “African leadership in global nuclear disarmament efforts… African citizens, policymakers, and civil society organizations must recognize the urgent need for collective action against nuclear threats.”
Dr. Amuah has had an academic career and is now a director in a large, Johannesburg-based business group that is oriented to infrastructure and real estate across Africa.
