Phala Phala tops EFF's local government election campaign

THE EFF intends to use President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm scandal as one of the issues in its local government elections campaign later this year. 

Party leader Julius Malema made the announcement on Wednesday when addressing a media briefing, saying that his organisation will picket outside the Constitutional Court on the first Wednesday of each month to demand the release of the judgment in the matter. 

EFF supporters from the Gauteng regional structures gathered in front of the apex court as part of this demonstration.

The party had approached the apex court last year after Parliament dismissed a report that found President Cyril Ramaphosa may have breached his oath of office.

That report raised serious concerns about Ramaphosa’s conduct in his handling of the 2020 theft of foreign currency at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.

"The Phala Phala matter is a national issue.. We will be there every first Wednesday of the month until a judgment is delivered. We have a Constitutional Court which has, for the first time, shown us this thing....It is a shame that this has happened," Malema said.

The party has accused Ramaphosa of being complicit in concealing the truth surrounding illicit dollars allegedly stored at his Phala Phala farm in 2020.

The saga also resulted in a series of investigations by various institutions, including SARS and the Public Protector who exonerated the President.

However, a Section 89 independent panel, led by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, found that the President may have violated sections 96(2)(a) of the Constitution and Section 34(1) of the  Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities (PRECCA) Act in relation to the robbery at his Phala Phala game farm.

The majority of Members of Parliament, 214, voted for the Section 89 report to be rejected and for Parliament not to proceed with an impeachment inquiry in 2022.

The EFF contends that Parliament’s refusal to adopt the report, which suggested potential misconduct by the President, was irrational and unconstitutional and took the matter all the way to the apex court in 2024.

ATM leader Vuyo Zungula said that he has formally requested an update from the Registrar of the Constitutional Court regarding the delay in delivering the much-anticipated judgment.

Zungula, in a joint letter with the EFF, penned on February 3, raised questions concerning the institutional inefficiency exhibited by the court. He noted that the judgment has been reserved for over a year, emphasising that it “remains of significant public interest".

"During the hearing of this matter, judgment was and remains reserved with no indication of a possible date of delivery. This matter was and still remains of public interest. Notably, a decision on this matter will have direct and immediate implications for the constitutional obligations of the President, the National Assembly, and the very future holder of the highest executive office," Zungula said in the letter.

Cape Times