The South African Parliament announced on Friday, August 5, that it had approved a request for an investigation targeting the President Cyril Ramaphosaregarding the criminal charges brought against him in connection with the “Farmgate” affair.
“The President of the National Assembly, Noxious Mapisa-Nqakulaconsiders the motion presented under Article 89 of the Constitution, as introduced by Vuyo Zungula, of the African Transformation Movement (ATM), to be within the rules,” Parliament Spokesperson Moloto said. Mothapo.
Last June, a criminal complaint was filed against Cyril Ramaphosaaccusing him of having violated the law on the prevention of organized crime by concealing a burglary, which occurred in February 2020 at his private farm, where millions of dollars in cash were allegedly stolen.
According to the former head of the State Security Agency, Arthur Fraserat the origin of the complaint, “the suspects were kidnapped, interrogated and bought to remain silent”.
“In accordance with the Legislative Institution’s Rules of Procedure, Ms. Mapisa-Nqakula must appoint an independent panel, giving political parties represented in the Assembly a reasonable period of time to nominate candidates,” Mr. Mothapo stressed.
He added that “the function of the independent panel is to carry out a preliminary assessment of the proposed motion and, in doing so, make a recommendation to the Speaker of Parliament within 30 days if it deems there is sufficient evidence. showing that the Head of State has engaged in violations specified in the motion”.
On Thursday, seven major opposition political parties in South Africa agreed to demand answers from President Ramaphosa about the criminal charges against him. They stressed that “Parliament must hold the Head of State accountable for the violation of the laws, with regard to what happened in the Phala Phala farm”, located in the province of Limpopo (northeast) .
The President of the Republic is revocable
The political parties also said they planned to meet again on August 10 to consider the creation of a committee under article 89 of the constitution, which provides that the National Assembly can dismiss a President. of the Republic in case of serious violation of the Constitution or the law, serious misconduct or inability to perform his duties.
In addition, the former Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, had decided to open an investigation into this case after receiving a complaint filed by the ATM. Mr. Ramaphosa thus submitted a written response to the 31 questions addressed to him by the Office of the Public Protector.
At the end of July, the national spokesperson for the African National Congress (ruling ANC), Pule Mabe, revealed that Mr Ramaphosa appeared before the party’s Integrity Commission, noting that another hearing could follow if necessary. .
The South African Presidency had confirmed the events at the Phala Phala farm, but denied any criminal complicity, arguing that the Head of State was absent to attend the African Union summit in Addis Ababa in February 2020 when the theft took place on his farm.