Phala Phala saga: Ministers, officials who aided Cyril Ramaphosa ‘must fall with him’, says EFF’s Ndlozi

Mbuyiseni Ndlozi

Cape Town – Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi has reportedly called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to step down, saying that he must be followed by ministers and officials who may have helped suppress investigations into the Phala Phala scandal.

This came following damning findings by an independent panel investigating the Phala Phala farm saga.

The three-person panel, led by an ex-chief justice, handed its report to National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula at a televised ceremony in Cape Town on Wednesday.

In June, it emerged that an estimated $$580 000 in cash was stolen from Ramaphosa’s game farm in 2020, raising questions about how the billionaire president, who took to power on the promise of fighting corruption, acquired the money and whether he declared it.

ALSO READ | WATCH | Phala Phala report: Dlamini-Zuma wants Cyril Ramaphosa to ‘step aside’

The panel was set up in September and tasked with ascertaining whether there was sufficient evidence to show that Ramaphosa committed a crime.

It concluded that Ramaphosa may have committed a serious violation of the law and serious misconduct in terms of the constitution.

Soon after the release of the report, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma called for Ramaphosa to “step aside” and allow for investigations to continue without his influence as president.

Other political parties and politicians also added their voices, calling for Ramaphosa to resign.

The Economic Freedom Fighters said the president “must go” to prevent placing the country in what it described as a “criminal underworld” and called for a new president to be elected.

Ndlozi echoed these sentiments, adding that ministers and officials who allegedly helped Ramaphosa “suppress Phala Phala investigations” should also go.

“There is no way Ramaphosa suppressed Phala Phala investigations and recovery of his dollars alone. All police generals, captains, ministers and deputy ministers who assisted him in undermining South African laws and the constitution must fall with him,” he claimed on Twitter.

 “We conclude this information discloses, prima facie, that the president may have committed a serious violation of sections 96(2)(a) (of the constitution) and a serious violation of section 34(1) of the Prevention and combating of Corrupt Activities Act, a serious misconduct in that the president violated section 96(2)(b) of the constitution by acting in a way that is inconsistent with his office, and a serious misconduct in that the president violated section 96(2)(b) by exposing himself to a situation involving a conflict between his official responsibilities and his private business.” TimesLIVE quoted the independent panel.

The president has, however, denied allegations made against him and maintained his innocence.

Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the president was “looking at a number of options and consulting with a number of role players”.

Magwenya confirmed Ramaphosa would quell all speculations on the Phala Phala matter by addressing the nation.

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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe 

 

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