Johannesburg – South Africa’s anti-corruption watchdog said on Wednesday it has launched a probe into President Cyril Ramaphosa who allegedly concealed the theft of a large sum of cash from his farm.
Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane said she had received a complaint against Ramaphosa “for allegedly breaching the Executive Code of Ethics”.
The investigation “has commenced”, the ombudswoman said in a statement.
Ramaphosa is accused of complicity in buying the silence of burglars who allegedly stole large sums of money at his farm in northern Limpopo province.
The theft occurred in February 2020, according to the complaint by former intelligence chief Arthur Fraser who first reported the case to the police last week.
Public Protector confirms receipt of a complaint against the President and clarifies the office’s powers under the Executive Members’ Ethics Act pic.twitter.com/VEhobQFagC
— Public Protector SA (@PublicProtector) June 8, 2022
Robbers allegedly broke into Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala cattle and game breeding farm in Bela Bela where they found $4 million in cash hidden in furniture.
Ramaphosa denied any wrongdoing, accepting he buys and sells animals “sometimes through cash sometimes through transfers”, but disputed the sum of money in question.
He is accused of concealing the theft from police and the tax authorities.
Fraser accused Ramaphosa of obstruction of justice and organising for the suspects to be kidnapped, interrogated on his property and paid off.
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Investigations by the previous public protector Thuli Madonsela triggered the downfall of Ramaphosa’s predecessor Jacob Zuma who eventually resigned in 2018 under the weight of graft scandals.
Ramaphosa is himself under mounting pressure.
The complaint to the protector, who has legal powers to investigate graft, ethical violations by the executive and misconduct in public office, was brought by small opposition party the African Transformation Movement (ATM).
The leftist opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party wants Ramaphosa to step aside over the affair.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter_PresidencyZA
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