By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says it is up to the governing party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to decide his future in the face of allegations of misconduct against him.
Ramaphosa, who said he would attend an NEC meeting scheduled for Monday, is fighting for his political future after a panel of experts found he may have violated his oath of office in regards to millions of dollars allegedly found at his private game farm.
Ramaphosa has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crimes.
The NWC is deliberating over the Section 89 panel report on the Phala Phala farm saga ahead of the reconvening of its special National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Monday.
The report found that Ramaphosa may have violated the Constitution and abused his oath of office by failing to report the 2020 crime at his Limpopo farm to the relevant authorities.
A case for impeachment may be made against Ramaphosa.
He explained his abrupt departure from Sunday’s meeting to journalists:
“I have been recused from the meeting because they are going to discuss the panel’s report and as per our own experience and history and tradition, it’s always better when a matter that affects a person personally should be discussed in their absence.”
His lawyer meanwhile has confirmed that he will seek to challenge, in the Constitutional Court.
Ramaphosa’s attorney, Peter Harris, issued a brief statement on Sunday: “We received instructions some days ago from the president to take the panel’s report and recommendations contained therein on review to the Constitutional Court. Papers will be filed shortly.”
The panel, headed by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, was wholly unconvinced by Ramaphosa’s account of the theft of some US$580 000 from a couch in a room on his Phala Phala farm in February 2020 – and did not accept his claims that the money had been the proceeds of a buffalo sale.
Among other things, the panel found that the information presented to it established, “prima facie, the money that was stolen was probably more than US$ 580 000, and that there was “a substantial doubt about the legitimacy of the source of the currency that was stolen”.
“This is a very serious matter, which, if established, renders violation of section 96 of the Constitution and [the Prevention and Combatting of Corrupt Activities Act], a serious violation, and a serious misconduct,” it said.
In other words, the panel has effectively suggested that the US$580 000 stolen from Phala Phala may be the proceeds of crime – a preliminary finding that fundamentally contradicts Ramaphosa’s continued assertions that he did nothing wrong.
Reactions
Calls for Ramaphosa to resign are premature – SACP
The findings and recommendations of the independent panel, which probed the Phala Phala allegations against President Cyril Ramaphosa, remain legally inconclusive.
This is according to SA Communist Party (SACP).
“Using words like ‘may’ shows the degree of uncertainty of the findings. As such, the report may be subjected to judicial review by the president. The alliance needs to provide collective leadership in handling the Section 89-report, related processes and the entire situation, without taking away the right of the president to review the report,” SACP spokesperson Dr Alex Mashilo said.
“The call for the president to resign is premature. It is also unfortunate that this matter is now being weaponised for factional manoeuvres within our movement as we approach the ANC 55th National Conference this December. This is a matter that affects the alliance and, more importantly, the country,” Mashilo said.
SADTU
SADTU calls for an investigation and possible charging of Justices Sandile Ngcobo and Thokozile Masipa
Political Analyst
Sfiso Benard Nxumalo, a public law DPhil in Law Candidate at the University of Oxford, says the report is “vague” in relation to “which constitutional provisions and laws” were potentially “seriously violated” by Ramaphosa in relation to the Phala Phala break-in and the alleged cover-up that followed it.
“In other words, which violations were of such a serious nature that they would justify a case of impeachment?”
Serious misconduct is defined in the National Assembly Rules as “unlawful, dishonest or improper behaviour performed by the president in bad faith”.
SA in crisis and ruling party facing a complete meltdown, warns Archbishop Makgoba
Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba says the country is facing a crisis and the governing party appears to be in meltdown.
Makgoba was reacting to the controversy around President Cyril Ramaphosa who is under immense pressure following the release of the report by an independent panel, which made damning findings against him in relation to the theft of $580 000 (R10 million) from his game farm, Phala Phala, in Limpopo.