Ramaphosa saga: judge to crack the whip

DEPUTY Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba of the North Gauteng High Court has been asked to intervene and crack the whip, should President Cyril Ramaphosa and Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane fail to file their papers on time in the president’s review application over the Bosasa report.

This was the request to Judge Ledwaba by Judge Peter Mabuse yesterday after the president successfully filed an urgent application to interdict the public protector from implementing her remedial action.

Judge Mabuse implored Judge Ledwaba to act if the parties failed to reach an agreement in filing papers for the urgent hearing of Ramaphosa’s review application.

The remedial action in question involves a R500 000 donation Ramaphosa is said to have received from Gavin Watson, chief executive of controversial facilities management company Bosasa for his ANC presidential campaign in October 2017.

The order by Judge Mabuse stated that the legal counsel for both parties had to first agree on the dates to file the records and further papers for the review application.

Constitutional law expert advocate Paul Hoffman SC weighed in on the ruling, saying the review application would compel Mkhwebane to make available the records and documents she used to prepare her report.

Hoffman further said the court ordered that the review be heard on an urgent basis, but said he anticipated clashes between the parties before the matter can be fully heard in court.

“There will be skirmishes between the parties. They are likely to fight over which documents should be made public and those that should be kept secret,” Hoffman said.

But political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi held a different view and said Mkhwebane’s decision not to oppose the interdict was aimed at agreeing to the request for the review application to be heard on an urgent basis.

“It is my view, if the president’s review application succeeds, it will not assist him at all as he is already suffering political damage due to the email leaks,” Matshiqi said.

His sentiments were echoed by another analyst, Xolani Dube, who said the interdict Ramaphosa obtained was for his satisfaction and those he allegedly seeks to protect.

“In the public and political domain, the interdict has no relevance. The real issue is between Ramaphosa and the ANC as well as him and the South African public.”

The donation by Watson became a subject of Mkhwebane’s investigations following complaints by DA leader Mmusi Maimane in November last year and EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu in January this year.

At the time, Maimane had also asked Mkhwebane to probe the possibility of money laundering on the part of the president.

In her report released last month, Mkhwebane said she found that Ramaphosa had misled Parliament in his reply in November last year to a question by Maimane, and in her proposed remedial action ordered that National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise refer her findings to Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests and to demand publication of all donations received by Ramaphosa.

She asked the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), advocate Shamila Batohi, to investigate prima facie evidence of money laundering while the police’s national commissioner, Khehla Sitole, was asked to investigate criminal conduct against Watson.

Yesterday, Mkhwebane’s legal counsel, Theo Seanego, and Ramaphosa’s lawyer, Ndumiso Luthuli, presented a draft order to Judge Mabuse which put the entire report on ice.

Mkhwebane’s spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe, said the parties had not yet agreed on the date to file papers but that Mkhwebane would oppose the review application.