Judge orders sealing of ‘illegal’ bank records, IDs

THE North Gauteng High Court’s Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba has barred the release of banking details and identities of big businesses and prominent people who allegedly contributed financially to ensure President Cyril Ramaphosa became ANC president in 2017.

Ledwaba’s decision followed an official complaint lodged by Ramaphosa last week, alleging that some of the details in Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s Bosasa report were “illegally obtained”.

Ramaphosa made the application after Mkhwebane found he had misled Parliament over a R500 000 donation he received from the controversial facility management company Bosasa in October 2017, before the ANC’s national elective conference.

Cape Argus sent questions to Ledwaba’s office yesterday. An official said he would attend to them today.

Constitutional law expert, advocate Paul Hoffman, said the sealing of documents did not affect the adjudication, it simply prevented publication of private details that could only find their way into the public domain in breach of the right to privacy.

Ramaphosa’s lawyer, Peter Harris, urged the media to obtain the finer details from the president’s spokesperson Khusela Diko, who could not be reached for comment. The Presidency did not respond to requests via email.

Last week, Harris wrote to Ledwaba: “We submit that the bank statements of EFFG2, Linked Environmental Services, Ria Tenda Trust and Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation accounts contain confidential information which must be protected.”

Mkhwebane’s spokesperson Oupa Segalwe said the judge sealed the records based on insinuations it had been obtained illegally. He said it seemed Ramaphosa was interested in protecting his donors, who did not make representation that they did not want the details made public. He said Mkhwebane would not challenge the ruling.