Wednesday, 05 March 2025

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) condemns, in the strongest terms, the continued deliberate and coordinated efforts to protect President Cyril Ramaphosa from accountability for the Phala Phala scandal. The latest revelation that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) report on the matter, finalised in October 2023, has been classified as “top secret” is a blatant act of shielding a sitting President from scrutiny, reinforcing the reality that South Africa’s institutions have been captured to serve Ramaphosa’s personal interests.

It is now clear that every level of governance and law enforcement has been manipulated to ensure that no action is taken against Ramaphosa, despite overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing. Since the scandal was first exposed in June 2022, when former State Security Agency Director-General Arthur Fraser laid criminal charges against Ramaphosa, Major-General Wally Rhoode, and crime intelligence officers for kidnapping, money laundering, and obstruction of justice, every state institution that has been tasked with investigating the matter has failed to hold the President accountable.

The facts remain unchanged: millions of rands in foreign currency were found hidden in furniture at the Phala Phala game farm, money that was never declared to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) as required by law. The claim that this money was a “deposit” for buffalo from a Sudanese businessman, who was conveniently never able to collect the animals, was nothing more than an elaborate attempt to cover up what is, by all definitions, an act of money laundering. The reality is that a sitting head of state was caught hiding undeclared foreign currency, failed to report its theft to the police, and instead used the Presidential Protection Unit to recover the stolen money in a clandestine operation outside the boundaries of the law.

Despite this, the SARB refused to hold him accountable, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) conveniently found no violations, and the Public Protector, under the compromised leadership of Kholeka Gcaleka, absolved him of wrongdoing despite clear evidence to the contrary. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which had every opportunity to pursue criminal charges, followed the same pattern and refused to prosecute him, confirming once again that justice in South Africa is selective and serves the interests of the political elite.

Most damning of all, however, was the Section 89 Independent Panel, chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, which found that there was a prima facie case for Ramaphosa’s impeachment. The panel determined that there were strong grounds to believe that Ramaphosa had violated the Constitution and engaged in conduct that warranted his removal from office.

This was a historic finding, yet instead of allowing Parliament to act on it, the ANC used its majority in December 2022 to suppress the process, ensuring that no accountability would follow. Their excuse at the time was that Ramaphosa had challenged the findings in court and that other state institutions were investigating the matter. These same institutions have now either cleared him or have conveniently delayed the release of their findings, ensuring that the truth remains hidden.

The classification of the IPID report as “top secret” is just the latest chapter in this systematic cover-up. The Police Minister’s refusal to release it is an insult to democracy and a direct assault on transparency and accountability. Parliament has a duty to oversee the executive, yet it is being rendered powerless by a government that protects its leader at all costs. The EFF will not stand by while Ramaphosa continues to evade justice.

Having exhausted all other avenues, our last resort was the Constitutional Court, where we challenged Parliament’s unjust decision to block the Section 89 report. The African Transformation Movement (ATM), along with the EFF sought relief from the Constitutional Court stating that the decision to reject the Independent Panel Report and voting against the establishing a Section 89 inquiry was irrational. We are awaiting this judgement from the highest court in the land to intervene and compel Parliament to reconsider its vote, so that Ramaphosa is held accountable for his criminal actions.

The fight against corruption and impunity in South Africa is far from over. Therefore we will consider all options, included but not limited to, approaching the courts to compel the de-classification and release of the IPID report. The EFF remains committed to ensuring that no one, not even the President, is above the law.

ISSUED BY THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Leigh-Ann Mathys (National Spokesperson) 082 304 7572

Thato Lebyane (Media Enquiries) 078 304 7572