Cape Town – Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to “step aside” following the damning findings by an independent panel investigating the Phala Phala farm scandal.
The panel revealed in a report released on Wednesday that Ramaphosa may have committed a serious violation of the law and serious misconduct in terms of the constitution.
The three-person panel, led by retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, said it found enough evidence to warrant a parliamentary debate on whether the president should be impeached.
However, according to Dlamini-Zuma, the president should step down and allow for investigations to continue without his influence as president.
Speaking on eNCA‘s Power to Truth, Dlamini-Zuma said: “I think the president has to step aside now and answer to the case.”
She went on to repeat the statement on her Twitter account.
She made the call just a few months after she said that the ANC’s step-aside rule should be amended at the party’s conference in December.
Dlamini-Zuma denounced the ruling party’s step-aside rule as unjust, saying it should be amended.
If you go and read the ANC step aside rule, I think he should step aside. #PowerToTruth
— Dr Dlamini Zuma (@DlaminiZuma) November 30, 2022
I think the President has to step aside now and answer to the case #PowerToTruth
— Dr Dlamini Zuma (@DlaminiZuma) November 30, 2022
“Where the problem lies is that the country’s laws say we are innocent until we are proved guilty. The law of the ANC almost says we are guilty until proved innocent.
“The problem with step aside is that you are charged, and then you step aside, but three years on, you are still waiting for the trial to start. What kind of justice is that? Justice should be they investigate you once they’ve charged you and the trial must start within months,” said Dlamini-Zuma during an interview on SABC News.
Parliament is set to examine the report and decide whether to push ahead with impeachment proceedings next week, only days before Ramaphosa faces a crucial internal party election.
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