President Cyril Ramaphosa. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane/ Independent Newspapers
President Cyril Ramaphosa seems to be in for an unpleasant week as he faces two separate court battles that could have significant implications for his second term of his presidency.
To fire the first salvo is the EFF which is taking Ramaphosa to the Constitutional Court on Tuesday over the Phala Phala scandal that has been a thorn in the president’s side for years.
The party is seeking to hold Ramaphosa accountable for his actions surrounding the break-in at his Phala Phala game farm in February 2020.
Just two days later, on Thursday, Ramaphosa will be back in the same court to face accusations of stalling access to books for the blind and the visually impaired.
Section27, a public interest law centre, will argue that Ramaphosa’s failure to sign the Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB) has denied blind and visually impaired individuals access to reading materials in formats they can access.
The court is set to hear a case brought by the EFF against Ramaphosa, the National Assembly, and his party, the ANC.
The EFF is challenging Parliament’s decision not to pursue an impeachment investigation into Ramaphosa’s involvement in the Phala Phala farm scandal.
The break-in at Ramaphosa’s game farm has triggered allegations of corruption and misconduct against the president.
The National Assembly previously rejected a motion to have Ramaphosa answering before a committee after ANC MPs used their majority to vote against the establishment that would have been seized with holding the president accountable.
The Ngcobo panel, chaired by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, had concluded that Ramaphosa may have broken the Constitution ANC through a vote in Parliament.
The EFF will further argue that Parliament can only reject the conclusions of an independent panel on well-defined, legally valid grounds once the panel has determined there are adequate grounds for impeachment.
EFF leader Julius Malema has accused Ramaphosa of corruption and warned against compromising the country’s future by tolerating the president’s unaccountability.
Addressing the media during a briefing on Monday, Malema vowed to lead a mass protest in response to the handling of Ramaphosa’s farm scandal.
“We have said before that as long as the EFF is in Parliament Cyril Ramaphosa will be held accountable,” he said.
Ramaphosa will also have to face the same court after he was accused of failing to sign the CAB which has resulted in a case being brought before the Apex court.
The case, Blind SA v President of the Republic of South Africa, involves access to books for the blind and the visually impaired.
The CAB, which was sent to Ramaphosa for signature in February, includes exceptions that would allow materials to be converted into accessible formats without the consent of the copyright holder.
However, Ramaphosa’s delay in signing the bill has resulted in the expiration of a court-crafted exception that was put in place in 2022.
Pearl Nicodemus, representing Blind SA and Section27, said that this exception, section 13A, allowed for the conversion of materials into accessible formats without the consent of the copyright holder.
They argue that the delay in signing the bill has resulted in a “book famine” for the blind and the visually impaired.
The case has sparked widespread concern, with many organisations, including Section27, Recreate, Right to Know, and Sadtu, coming out in support of Blind SA.
The organisations have also planned a picket outside the Constitutional Court on Thursday.
Ramaphosa’s referral of the CAB to the Constitutional Court has also been criticised, with some arguing that it was a delaying tactic.
“If the court-crafted exception is resuscitated and, once again, read into CAB, it will not only remove barriers that persons who are blind or visually impaired have experienced for decades when trying to convert materials into formats they can read, but will also allow South Africa to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty.
“This treaty will allow persons who are blind or visually impaired in South Africa to engage in the cross-border exchange of reading materials and will open up access to hundreds of thousands of titles in accessible formats,” Nicodemus said.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, responding to The Star, said the president would communicate via court documents.
“We will respond through our papers. Beyond that, there's nothing more we can say,” he said.
The Star