Fraser’s plan was to neutralise Ramaphosa, not remove him

There appears to be little reason for President Cyril Ramaphosa to be struggling with the uncomplicated questions about the burglary at his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo, sent by Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane on 8 June, before her suspension.

Now he has until close of business on Monday to come clean to acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka after she denied his request for another extension on Monday.

As a self-proclaimed “process person”, Ramaphosa will welcome Gcaleka waiting for her powers “in line with Section 7(4) (a) of the Public Protector Act 23 of 1994, read with section 5 thereof” to kick in before she can subpoena him.

According to the public protector’s spokesperson Oupa Segalwe, the prescribed period in line with the rules is seven calendar days from the date of the serving of the notice of intention to subpoena.

“If the seventh day falls on a Sunday or public holiday, the next day is the last,” he said. “If that comes and nothing has been received, a subpoena is then served.”

Following the rats’ nest opened by former State Security Agency and Correctional Services head Arthur Fraser’s allegations of the theft of “large undisclosed sums of US dollars concealed in the furniture in the main farmhouse” on 9 November 2020, the pressure on Ramaphosa to publicly disclose what happened has been intense.

ALSO READ: Phala Phala saga turning public opinion against Ramaphosa

The question is, how difficult are the questions? Not too difficult (a paraphrased version can be found on the left). Many of them deal with what most South Africans want to know. There’s been a deafening silence on how the money came to be in SA in such a large volume, especially in cash, as it would require going through customs.

It is known that at least one person has been arrested – Namibian Urbanus Shaumbwako, on unrelated stolen firearm possession charges. Much has been made of his alleged involvement in the Phala Phala saga.

However, TimesLIVE has reported Shaumbwako’s cellphone data showed he was in Cape Town at the time Fraser said the theft took place. It has also cost Major General Wally Rhoode his job as head of the presidential security unit.

And while Ramaphosa drags his heels, he continues losing public support.

Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said Ramaphosa would likely be pushed into a corner, where he would not be able to push back.

“Fraser’s plan was not to remove Ramaphosa; he knows it’s impossible. He is only trying to neutralise him,” Mathekga said.

Another analyst, Piet Croucamp, believed the pressure Ramaphosa found himself under was justifiable.

“He should share his version of events with the public as much as he should share with the investigating authorities and if everything is above board, then there is no reason why there should be a difference between what he is willing to tell the public and what he is willing to tell the investigating authorities.

“If the Hawks [Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation] come to a decision to formalise the charges and the NPA [National Prosecuting Authority] decides to follow through, I have absolutely no doubt he will step aside.

“But, I do think it will not be the end of the world for him. I think he actually wanted to be a one-term president and he’s only taking up the second term because of the desperate position of the ANC.”

– news@citizen.co.za