‘The less said, the better’: Ramaphosa notes PP report clearing him over Phala Phala burglary

President Cyril Ramaphosa says he has noted the public protector’s preliminary report on the burglary at his Phala Phala game farm, which clears him of any wrongdoing.

Phala Phala report leaked

Acting Public Protector advocate Kholeka Gcaleka’s preliminary report on the Phala Phala farm scandal was leaked on Saturday.

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa has 10 days to reply to preliminary PP report on Phala Phala

The 191-page report found that there is no basis to conclude that the president contravened the Executive Ethics Code, or “exposed himself to any risk of a conflict between his constitutional duties and obligations and his private interests arising from or affected by his alleged paid work” at the Limpopo-based farm.

However, the draft document did make adverse findings against members of the South African Police Service (Saps) attached to the presidential protection unit, particularly Major General Wally Rhoode – who was the head of Ramaphosa’s protection unit at the time – and Sergeant Hlulani Rekhoto, who investigated the housebreaking in which $580 000 (about R10 million) was stolen in February 2020.

‘The less said, the better’

Addressing the media on Saturday in KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal, Ramaphosa said he had noted the preliminary findings of the public protector, echoing the Presidency’s statement on the matter.

“I’ve noted the report and that’s about all I can say in terms of the public protector’s rules once a preliminary report has been issued,” said the president.

“The less said, the better because she [advocate Gcaleka] still has to issue a final report,” Ramaphosa added.

Ramaphosa was speaking during an African National Congress (ANC) election campaign in the area, where he attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the gravesite of late ANC president Chief Albert Luthuli.

Earlier, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the preliminary report on the Phala Phala scandal vindicated the president’s long-maintained view that he “did not participate in any wrongdoing, nor did he violate the oath of his office”.

“Instead, the president was a victim of a crime that he duly reported to the relevant authorities,” said Magwenya.

10 days to make representations

The Office of the Public Protector confirmed that the preliminary findings of the Phala Phala investigation were sent to all affected parties, including Ramaphosa, on Friday in terms of the Public Protector Act.

The office said the complainants and all implicated persons had 10 days to make representations to the public protector on the draft report.

RELATED: Phala Phala: Sars confirms that Ramaphosa’s stolen dollars were not declared

The complainants in the matter were African Transformation Movement (ATM) leader Vuyolwethu Zungula, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen, and two other individuals who are not Members of Parliament.

Ndili Msoki, the public protector’s acting spokesperson, emphasised that the disclosure of the contents of the report is prohibited by law.

“The notice remains prohibited for public consumption under section 7(2) of the Public Protector Act which prohibits the disclosure, by any person, of the contents of any document or record of any evidence given before the public protector or deputy public protector during an investigation,” said Msoki in a statement.

‘Worrying misunderstanding’

Meanwhile, in a statement on Saturday, Steenhuisen said his party’s initial analysis of the preliminary findings was concerning.

The DA leader said the report contained a number of “inherent contradictions”. He said the acting public protector outsourced much of the investigatory work to the South African Revenue Service (Sars) and the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb), “where it will be cloaked in secrecy”.

This after advocate Gcaleka, in her draft report, said she had “no authority or jurisdiction to enquire into [the] tax-related information” of Ramaphosa nor the enforcement of regulations relating to the theft of US foreign currency at the game farm.

“None of this provides the necessary transparency and accountability to the republic to conduct oversight over its president.

“We also believe that the public protector has misunderstood the nature of the conflict of interest raised, and has thus compiled a preliminary report which is not congruent with, or reflective of, the complaint which was lodged,” said Steenhuisen.

Ad hoc committee

Steenhuisen said the DA will study the preliminary findings of the report to compile and submit their representations to the public protector.

He also raised concerns over the leaking of the report, saying it was “premature of the Presidency to dismiss the matter as the investigation is as yet unfinished”.

“This gives credence to the DA’s repeated calls for the establishment of an ad hoc committee into the Phala Phala matter so that Members of Parliament can be allowed to do their job of arriving at the full, unredacted truth.

“Such an ad hoc committee will have broad powers to subpoena persons and documents to which the public protector clearly was unable to gain access”.

On Monday, Sars confirmed to the DA that the US dollars stolen at Phala Phala were not declared by Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa when he arrived in the country.

In an interview with Sky News, in December last year, Mustafa claimed that the money was payment for cattle as part of a legitimate business transaction.

He also said he had complied with the requirement to declare the cash to Sars officials at OR Tambo International Airport upon entering South Africa.

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