President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to take his seat in the National Assembly during a hybrid plenary for oral reply to questions by the MPs on Tuesday.
Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said in a statement on Monday that Ramaphosa would be subjected to a total of six questions covering matters of national and international importance including illegal immigration and gender-based violence.
“Holding regular question-and-answer sessions is one way in which parliament, as provided by section 92(2) of the constitution, holds the president and the executive to account. The president’s questions for oral reply are scheduled at least once a quarter during session time within parliament’s annual programme,” said Mothapo.
The controversial theft of American currency at the president’s Phala Phala farm in Limpopo in February 2020 will also loom large during the hybrid sitting. Ramaphosa is expected to take the MPs into his confidence on the events leading up to the crime and the allegations that followed the theft.
The news of theft and the allegations of kidnapping and bribery emerged after former spy boss Arthur Fraser revealed damning evidence against the president.
So far, the president has given the country a run around by refusing to account for the events that unfolded at his farm, which have since caused harm to the reputation of the country.
Fraser, who laid criminal charges against the president in June, asserted that Ramaphosa was in cahoots with “criminals” who were colluding with his domestic workers when the crime at Phala Phala occurred.
“The president concealed the crime from the South African Police Service and/or South African Revenue Service [SARS] and thereafter paid the culprits for their silence, Fraser said at the time.
“The evidence I provide shows that the said burglary took place on 9 February 2020. This conduct of the president and those involved constitutes a breach of, infer alia, the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, No 121 of 1998 and the Prevention of Corrupt Activities Act No 12 of 2004.
“The details of the charges and the supporting evidence, including photographs, bank accounts, video footage and names are contained in my statement filed with the Rosebank police station.”
After a public outcry for the president to clarify the allegations, Ramaphosa confirmed in a presidential statement that there was indeed a robbery at his farm in 2020. However, the statement said he denies taking part in the exchange of foreign currency.
In May, Fraser demanded that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) make arrests within seven days, including that of the president.
In 2021, the former spy boss promised to expose Ramaphosa if given a chance to appear before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into the Allegations of State Capture hearings. However, he was not granted the opportunity.
During the hearings, several witnesses implicated Fraser of being behind the repurposing of the State Security Agency for the benefit of former president Jacob Zuma.
When he was called to testify, Frazer immediately put the commission and the country on high alert when he warned that he would be forced to reveal “state secrets” about presidents, past and present, as well as judges and MPs.
It is unknown if his veiled threat is what stopped the commission from pursuing his evidence.
The NPA said Ramaphosa would not get special treatment should a case against him be presented to it.
“As the NPA, we are constitutionally mandated to follow evidence … as and when the matter is presented to prosecutors, we will deal with it at that stage,” said NPA spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga.
The African National Movement (ATM) approached the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, requesting that a Section 89 inquiry be instituted against the president.
Section 89 of the constitution provides for the National Assembly to remove a president from office on the grounds of serious violation of the constitution, misconduct, and inability to perform the functions of the office.
ATM leader Vuyo Zungula later charged that Mapisa-Nqakula was taking too long to respond to his party’s request, threatening that the ATM would explore other avenues should Mapisa-Nqakula fail to respond within the deadline that the party had provided.
In her response, Mapisa-Nqakula said she was still applying her mind. “Please be assured that your motion is receiving due consideration. I am applying my mind regarding the compliance of the motion with the constitution and the rules,” she said.
In the letter dated June 14, Zungula said: “It is common cause that Mr Fraser has submitted evidence at the Rosebank police station where the president is implicated in serious crimes including bribery, money-laundering, kidnapping, breaching of customs and excise laws, breaching of SARS [SA Revenue Service] regulations, breaching of Prevention of Organised Crime Act, defeating the ends of justice, to mention but a few.”
According to Zungula, Ramaphosa violated S83(b) of the constitution which enjoins him as head of state to uphold, defend and respect the constitution as the supreme law of the republic.
In the letter, Zungula also raised concerns about the teams that have been appointed to investigate the alleged fraud and corruption that took place at the president’s farm.
“It is not clear how finality will be reached on these matters because the heads of all the institutions that must investigate these crimes are appointees of president Ramaphosa.
“[The] ATM will focus only on the areas where transgressions are neither contested nor in dispute. Incidentally, these are the areas where parliament has exclusive jurisdiction.”
The ATM is resolute to hold the president accountable. It has also written to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) requesting the suspension of all the police officers linked with the allegations of concealing the crime at Phala Phala farm.
This after accusations that top officials including national police commissioner General Fannie Masemola and his predecessor, Khehla Sitole, knew about the crime.
At the time, Zungula said he is concerned about claims that the police in Namibia met their South African counterparts after the crime in “no man’s land” in June 2020 to share operational information regarding David Imanuwela, who is one of the men suspected of breaking into Ramaphosa’s farm in February 2020 and later fled to Namibia.
In the letter to IPID, Zungula said these claims showed that they were all in cahoots in the alleged cover-up.
In July, the DA wrote to Mapisa-Nqakula requesting an urgent establishment of an ad hoc committee to investigate the theft at Phala Phala farm before August.
“This is in addition to the nine action steps the DA announced last week to get to the bottom of what really happened at Phala Phala,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen at the time.
Mapisa-Nqakula said in her response that the matter would be dealt with when parliament returned from recess. However, Steenhuisen said it was in the Speaker’s hands to prioritise the request and prove that parliament is independent.
“Since parliament is currently in recess, the duty to establish such an ad-hoc committee rests entirely with the Speaker of the National Assembly,” said Steenhuisen.
“And given parliament’s scandalous history of failing to hold former president [Jacob] Zuma to account in the Nkandla scandal – and the firm rebuke it received from then chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng for this dereliction of duty – it is critical that the Speaker demonstrates parliament’s commitment to its constitutional duty and the oath of office that each of its members swore.”
According to media reports, Ramaphosa, who is accused of concealing evidence and defying his presidential commitments, appeared before the ANC integrity commission in July and refused to reveal the details of the crime at his farm.
The Presidency then assembled the media for the president to talk about the allegations in July, however, he ducked the questions.
It is still unclear if he would finally take the MPs into his confidence during the sitting, however, the matter is expected to take centre stage.
This is a developing story…
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