After a parliamentary panel’s investigation determined he may have violated anti-corruption rules in connection with the suspected theft of a sizable sum of money from his Phala Phala game farm, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was the target of calls for resignation on Thursday.
The calls come in response to charges made by the nation’s former director of intelligence, Arthur Fraser that Ramaphosa attempted to hide the theft of a sizable sum of money from his farm in 2020 by stuffing it into couches. Fraser charged the president with money laundering and breaking regulations governing foreign exchange.
The parliamentary panel’s report questioned the money’s origin and the reason it wasn’t reported to financial authorities, and it mentioned a potential conflict between the president’s personal and professional interests.
Ramaphosa has maintained that the money came from the sale of animals at his farm, denying any impropriety. However, Ramaphosa’s critics within the ruling African National Congress party and opposition parties have called for his resignation.
The top decision-making body of the ANC, the national executive committee, is scheduled to meet Thursday evening to receive a briefing on the situation and perhaps to decide Ramaphosa’s future. During the ANC’s next conference, Ramaphosa is running for reelection as party leader. He would then be able to run for president of South Africa once more in 2024.
On Tuesday, lawmakers are anticipated to discuss the findings and decide on whether or not to take more action, including moving through with impeachment procedures. The majority of ANC lawmakers in Parliament could resist efforts to remove their leader from office.
According to Ramaphosa’s office, “The president is considering the findings and an announcement will be made in due time.”
According to the parliamentary report, Ramaphosa disputed Fraser’s first claim that $4 million had been stolen and instead asserted that $580,000 had been taken.
The investigation also called into doubt Ramaphosa’s justification that the funds came from the sale of buffaloes to Sudanese businessman Mustafa Mohamed Ibrahim Hazim, questioning why the animals were still at the property more than two years later.
According to the report, a central bank examination found no evidence of the dollars’ entry into the country. It says, “We are unable to look into or confirm the source of the foreign currency.”
Ramaphosa “placed himself in a position of conflict of interest,” the parliamentary panel ruled, adding that the “evidence established that the president may be guilty of a significant violation of key provisions of the constitution.”
The report condemned Ramaphosa, for opting to report the situation to the head of his presidential protection unit rather than reporting the incident to the police as required by protocol.
Ramaphosa’s impeachment is being demanded by the Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party.
