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President Cyril Ramaphosa says the independent panel report into the Phala Phala saga requires “careful reading and appropriate consideration in the interest of the stability of the government and that of the country.”
Ramaphosa was responding to the release of the report of the independent panel appointed by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, following a motion by the ATM to consider the removal of the President in light of the Phala Phala saga.
The 87-page report by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, said the Panel was satisfied that the evidence placed before it, “discloses, prima facie, a violation of section 96(2)(a) read with section 83(b) of the Constitution.”
“In all the circumstances, we are satisfied that the President has a case to answer in relation to Charge 1.”
The Section 89 inquiry panel was appointed by the Speaker of the National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula after the African Transformation Movement tabled a motion calling for the removal of the President on the grounds that he had violated the Constitution and serious misconduct.
This followed allegations in statements made by former Correctional Services Commissioner, Arthur Fraser, who laid criminal charges against the President for failing to report the burglary at his farm in 2020 in which a large amount of foreign currency was stolen.
The panel noted in its findings that it “it remains a disturbing feature of the investigation conducted by General Rhoode and his team” that it was “carried out without a case being registered and without a docket being opened.”
The panel evidence related to the burglary and theft, the amount of foreign currency stolen, suspects arrested and interviewed and confessed to the theft of $800 000 yet no one was convicted of either the housebreaking or theft at Phala Phala.
Responding to the release of the report on Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said “the s89 process has presented an unprecedented and extraordinary moment for South Africa’s constitutional democracy.”
Ramaphosa also reiterated the statement that he had made in his submission to the independent panel where he said he had “endeavoured, throughout my tenure as President, not only to abide by my oath but to set an example of respect for the Constitution, for its institutions, for due process and the law.”
“I categorically deny that I have violated this oath in any way, and I similarly deny that I am guilty of any of the allegations made against me.”
