The three-member panel chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo is later this month expected to reveal the extent of its probe into impeachment allegations against President Cyril Ramaphosa related to the robbery on his Limpopo farm, Phala Phala.
THE THREE-member panel chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo is later this month expected to reveal the extent of its probe into impeachment allegations against President Cyril Ramaphosa related to the robbery on his Limpopo farm, Phala Phala.
Last month, MPs submitted information to the Section 89 panel and Ramaphosa was given until Sunday to respond to the allegations.
The three-member panel was appointed by National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to assess whether Ramaphosa broke the law around the theft of US dollars on his farm in 2020.
Parliament has set out a timetable for the 30 days in which the panel has to complete its work.
At the weekend, presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed that Ramaphosa would meet Sunday’s deadline to deliver his submission to Parliament’s Inquiry Panel and that Ramaphosa would adhere to the rules of the panel.
Magwenya said the rules don’t ask for a direct engagement between the president and the panel and the details will probably be made public when the panel concludes its work.
The details of the robbery emerged when former spy boss Arthur Fraser laid criminal charges against Ramaphosa for not reporting the theft of $4 million from the farm and for allegedly trying to cover it up.
Crucial questions remain unanswered after Ramaphosa admitted that the robbery occurred at his farm. While he has denied wrongdoing, he has failed to answer any relevant questions about the crime
These questions include why he was in possession of such a large amount of foreign currency and the exact amount.
Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago and SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter have been asked to investigate the possibility that the president broke a number of the country’s laws as a result of the claims.
There are also questions on why the crime was not reported to police and to what extent state resources were used in the subsequent “cover-up”.
Fraser opened a criminal case against Ramaphosa and his head of the Presidential Protection Unit, Wally Rhoode, for allegedly kidnapping and torturing five men to reveal where they had stashed their loot.
Fraser alleges, in his affidavit submitted at Rosebank Police Station in Joburg, that after the five men made their confession and some of their loot was recovered, Rhoode “instructed” Ramaphosa to pay them R150,000 each to buy their silence.
