EFF leader Julius Malema’s press conference on Tuesday focused almost entirely on the bribery, kidnapping and money laundering allegations against President Cyril Ramaphosa after a burglary at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm where R60 million worth of US dollars were stolen and the matter was not reported to police.
Here are the five key questions Malema wants answered:
- How much money was stored at the farm, and in what currency; and did Ramaphosa alert the revenue collector of such an amount of money?
Malema said the EFF does not have confidence that the Financial Intelligence Centre, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, South African Revenue Service (Sars) and the South African Reserve Bank will investigate the prime facie evidence presented by the former head of the State Security Agency, Arthur Fraser.
The DA and ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba have called on Sars and the SA Reserve Bank to probe the theft, saying the incident had raised concern in the public domain relating to tax compliance in the transaction that led to the president acquiring $4m (R62m) in cash
- Did Ramaphosa disclose to Parliament and the executive the amount of money stored at the farm?
Malema said the EFF has submitted to Parliament questions to Ramaphosa in terms of National Assembly Rule 145, to hold him accountable for the unreported crime.
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa has written to Parliament calling for an investigation and for Ramaphosa to go on sabbatical leave during the probe. Holomisa wrote to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula saying Parliament must investigate allegations that Ramaphosa may be complicit in criminality.
He said that Parliament should appoint two or three retired judges to conduct a preliminary investigation into Fraser’s allegations that Ramaphosa had not reported the crime to the police, and had sought to cover up the matter.
- Will he open a criminal case with the police in a police station about the burglary and theft at the farm?
Malema said the media statement released by the Presidency and subsequent radio interviews by Ramaphosa’s spokesperson were meant to downplay a serious crime and ‘must be rejected with the contempt it deserves’.
- Did he ever receive a huge amount of money from donors during his tenure as deputy president and president of the country?
Last year Ramaphosa told the Zondo commission inquiry into state capture that his presidential campaign in 2017 did not cost R1 billion and said it was closer to R300 million, although he was not clear on the exact amount. He said he would rather have withdrawn from the race than allow his team to pay for ANC votes.
- Did he call the president of Namibia to arrange for the illegal extradition of the people who took the money from the farm?
Malema said they were concerned about the collaboration between Ramaphosa and the president of Namibia, Heige Geingob, ‘which saw Ramaphosa unleash his personal thugs to track down suspects in Namibia, after the robbery on his farm, with the aid of the Namibian president’.