“We will ensure that the NEC meeting ends in unityparty spokesman Pule Mabe told reporters.
$580,000 in cash hidden under couch cushions
Cyril Ramaphosa has been hampered for months by a corruption-scented scandal. A complaint filed in June accuses him of having tried to conceal a burglary at his home in February 2020, by not declaring it to the police or the tax authorities. The criminals then took away 580,000 dollars in cash… camouflaged under the cushions of a sofa.
The head of state claims his innocence but his explanations did not convince a parliamentary commission which estimated last week in a report that the president “could have committed” acts contrary to the law and the Constitution.
A criminal investigation is also underway, the president has not been charged at this stage.
The Parliament meets Tuesday, December 6 in extraordinary session on the eve of the great holidays of the austral summer and must vote to decide whether or not to launch an impeachment procedure on the basis of the report.
A majority of 50% is needed to trigger the procedure. If launched, it would then require a two-thirds majority to successfully remove the president. Knowing that the ANC, despite strong divisions, holds a comfortable majority in Parliament.
The ANC weighed down by corruption
The ANC chaired by Cyril Ramaphosa and in power since the fall of apartheid, meets on December 16 to appoint its next president in 2024, if however the party, increasingly contested, wins the legislative elections.
Majority in Parliament since 1994, the ANC, weighed down by corruption and a war of factions, has chosen the head of state since the advent of South African democracy.
“Ramaphosa is our president”: in green, yellow and black, the colors of the ANC, a handful of partisans gave their support Monday in Johannesburg. Just like opponents demanding a resignation.
“Cyril”as it is colloquially known to South Africans, considered it the day after the damning report was released, according to political sources.
Before changing his mind: his spokesperson announced on Saturday that in addition to the political battle to stay in office and even run for a second term “in the interest” of democracy, Mr. Ramaphosa will also fight in the courts and challenge the validity of the “flawed” parliamentary report.
Several legal experts have criticized the parliamentary report in recent days, which relies heavily on “hearsay”, multiplying suppositions and rhetorical questions.
But the text also raises real questions about the president’s version of events. According to him, the cash stolen from his house came from the sale to a Sudanese businessman of twenty buffaloes.
“Normal practice is to put money in the bank the next business day,” the report notes.
Also, why are these buffaloes bought by a certain Mustafa Mohamed Ibrahim Hazim still on his property called Phala Phala (north-east) nearly three years after their sale?
“There are serious doubts as to whether the stolen foreign currency actually came from their sale,” the report concludes.