The EFF has harshly criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to withdraw his legal battle against the Section 89 report, which investigated his conduct during an incident at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo in February 2020.
Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson for the Presidency, announced during a media briefing on Monday that Ramaphosa has decided to withdraw the legal application seeking a review and nullification of the Section 89 report.
Magwenya stated that the president received advice suggesting that the report and its associated issues have become moot and hold no practical and legal consequence. As a result, Ramaphosa has been advised not to pursue legal proceedings to review and set aside the report at this stage.
The Section 89 panel, which conducted the investigation, had previously found that President Ramaphosa may have potentially breached sections 96(2)(a) of the constitution and section 34(1) of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. This raised concerns about a possible violation of his oath of office.
The EFF contends that the panel’s findings should be subjected to a parliamentary inquiry, which they believe would warrant an impeachment process.
“The ruling party used its majority in parliament in December 2022 to squash this parliamentary process, alleging that the report was challenged in court by Ramaphosa, and that there were other state agencies investigating this matter. The SARS has since reported that the dollars found at Ramaphosa’s farm were never declared, and now Ramaphosa has aborted his ill-advised court challenges,” said EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo on Tuesday.
Thambo emphasised that the panel’s report would continue to burden the president until Parliament heeds the calls for an impeachment inquiry to hold Ramaphosa accountable.
“As it stands therefore, the report of the independent panel still stands, and it will remain an albatross around the President’s neck until parliament exercises its Constitutional powers by establishing the impeachment committee to hold Ramaphosa accountable,” he said.
Thambo announced the EFF’s intention to write to the Speaker of Parliament, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, requesting her to reconsider her decision prohibiting the establishment of an impeachment committee, and warned that the failure to reconsider this decision would be viewed as a “serious abdication of duty by Parliament”, and they will consider seeking a court review of such a decision.
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