3 years ago
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ARTICLE AD BOX
- A panel headed by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo found that President Cyril Ramaphosa may have violated the Constitution in his Phala Phala game farm dealings.
- The report found that an investigation into the farm burglary was likely deliberately kept secret, and that the source of the money couldn't be established.
- News24 highlighted some of the key quotes from the Ngcobo report.
In a scathing Section 89 report, a panel headed by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo found that President Cyril Ramaphosa may have violated the Constitution and anti-corruption laws in his Phala Phala game farm dealing.
Ngcobo, alongside former High Court justice Thokozile Masipa and advocate Mahlape Sello, was appointed in September to investigate whether the president is answerable to constitutional breaches and whether a parliamentary impeachment inquiry should be instituted.
Ramaphosa has been mired in a credibility crisis since the country's former spy boss, Arthur Fraser, opened a criminal case against him for a burglary of millions of rands that happened at his Phala Phala game farm in early 2020.
Ramaphosa was accused of covering up the source of the money, allegedly stashed in furniture, and of thwarting a proper police investigation into the case.
The Section 89 panel submitted their report to National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Wednesday.
READ THE FULL SECTION 89 REPORT HERE.
News24 highlighted some of the key quotes from the Ngcobo report:
'Unsatisfactory features' in president's explanation
"In these circumstances, the evidence of the president must be approached with caution. Indeed, there are troubling unsatisfactory features in the explanation of the source of the foreign currency given by the president." - Page 37
Behaviour of buffalo purchaser 'un-businessmanlike'
"We find the behaviour of Mr [Mustafa] Hazim in carrying more than half a million US dollars in cash into South Africa and thereafter transporting it to the farm to be un-businessmanlike." - Page 38
"It is difficult to understand that a foreigner carrying US$580 000 would randomly come on a Christmas Day without making prior arrangements. We would have expected that Mr Hazim would have made arrangements with the general manager or the president to come and view the animals; the farm would make arrangements for someone with knowledge of buffalo to receive Mr Hazim and show him the animals and negotiate the price and conclude the sale transaction. Yet no such arrangements were made, and he was met by a lodge manager whose expertise in buffaloes is not known. Indeed, it is not clear to us how Mr [Sylvester] Ndlovu knew what buffaloes to sell and at what price each." - Page 38
'Serious doubt' of 'receipt as a proof of sale'
"Whether Phala Phala Wildlife is a registered VAT vendor and was therefore required to comply with the provisions of the VAT Act, is a question that we cannot answer on the information presented to us. Nor can we say, having regard to the amount of the transaction, that Phala Phala Wildlife is not a registered VAT vendor. Until these questions are answered serious doubt is cast on the alleged acknowledgement of receipt as proof of the sale." - Page 41
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President’s information on money storage 'vague and leaves unsettling gaps'
"The information presented by the president on the storage of the money is vague and leaves unsettling gaps. On his version, it would appear that he instructed Mr Ndlovu to have the money stored on the farm pending the return of [farm general manager] Mr [Hendrik] von Wielligh. Mr Ndlovu decided that the money must be stored in the president's private residence in a sofa below cushions. It is not clear whether the money was stored below the cushions or inside the sofa. If a sum of US$580 000 in cash money was 'stored below the cushions' it would have been visible to anyone passing by." - Page 42
Money 'concealed inside a leather sofa'
"On a probability, the money was carefully stored inside the sofa in such a manner that no one would notice that there was money in the sofa. This means that the sofa would have been opened up underneath, and the money stored inside the frame of the sofa. Thereafter, the underneath cover would have had to be carefully replaced otherwise the money would fall out on to the floor. But why go through process of turning the sofa upside down, opening it up and stuffing the inside of a sofa to store money that was destined for the bank shortly?" - Page 42
"In these circumstances, we find, as a matter of probability, that the money was in fact concealed inside a leather sofa, as the suspect who was interviewed stated in the audio clip provided to us." - Page 42
Money stored in sofa 'with the full knowledge and approval of the president’
"On a probability, we do not think that Mr Ndlovu, a lodge manager, would have defied the president's instruction to keep the money on the farm and in the safe, as is normal business practice, and decide on his own to store the money inside the president's private residence and in the sofa without the knowledge of the president. Mr Ndlovu was too junior to have made such a decision and carried it out without the president’s permission. In all probability, the money was stored in the sofa with the full knowledge and approval of the president." - Page 43
'Substantial doubt' over existence of 'alleged sale'
"There is nothing to suggest that Mr von Wielligh had been told about the sale and the money as of 10 February 2020. This raises substantial doubt about the existence of the alleged sale." - Page 45
'President has a case to answer'
"We think that the president has a case to answer on the origin of the foreign currency that was stolen, as well as the underlying transaction for it." - Page 47
'Deliberate decision to keep the investigation secret'
"This crime was not reported to the SAPS in Bela Bela, Limpopo, where the farm is located. As a consequence, there was no case number or a docket pertaining to this crime. There was a deliberate decision to keep the investigation secret." - Page 57
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'Disturbing feature'
"It remains a disturbing feature of the investigation conducted by General [Wally] Rhoode and his team that the president’s private residence was broken into and an undisclosed sum of money in US$, probably more than US$580 000, was stolen; suspects, or at least one of them, the mastermind behind the housebreaking and theft was detained, interviewed, and confessed to the crime, including stealing about US$800 000; yet no one was... convicted of this crime. And the investigation was carried out without a case being registered and without opening a docket." - Page 57
'Investigation was deliberately conducted outside of the normal procedures for investigating crime'
"The president was told of the theft of money while he was in Addis Ababa with General Rhoode, and he instructed General Rhoode to investigate the matter and to report to him. The general was not given instructions to report the matter to any SAPS police station and that is why no case was registered with any police station and no docket was opened. The investigation was deliberately conducted outside of the normal procedures for investigating crime." - Page 70
'Keep this investigation secret'
"The South African contingent specifically requested that 'the matter be handled with discretion' because of 'the sensitivity of the matter and the envisaged fallout' it will create in South Africa." - Page 73
"The request to the Namibian police to handle the matter 'with discretion' was intended to convey to them that they should keep this investigation secret. This is consistent with the manner in which the investigation was conducted, in particular, as it was not reported to the SAPS." - Page 73
'Conflict of interest'
"Based on all the information placed before the panel, we think that the evidence presented to the panel, prima facie establish that the president thrust himself into a situation where there was a conflict of interest between his official responsibilities as the head of state and as businessperson involved in cattle and game farming." - Page 74
'Money that was stolen was probably more than US$580 000'
"Furthermore, the information presented to the panel establishes, prima facie, the money that was stolen was probably more than US$580 000. As one of the suspects stated, they stole about US$800 000. Furthermore, the Namibian police reported that they had identified individuals, bank accounts in various and properties including lodges, houses and vehicles suspected to have been purchased with the proceeds of the crime." - Page 79
English (US)