Panel to probe burglary

SPEAKER: SEEKING ‘SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE’ TO IMPEACH RAMAPHOSA

Freedom Front Plus to nominate ‘objective’ expert for Phala Phala matter.

National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has requested the joint standing committee on intelligence, through its chair, Jerome-Joseph Maake, to consider specific allegations arising out of the Phala Phala game farm matter.

“The referral follows a letter from Democratic Alliance [DA] leader Mr John Steenhuisen, asking the speaker to establish an ad hoc committee to investigate several allegations relating to the farm,” said parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo.

“The speaker declined the request as she was of a view that some of the allegations mentioned by the DA could be considered by existing parliamentary structures, i.e. including the joint standing committee on intelligence.”

The allegations made by Steenhuisen include:

That Deputy State Security Minister Zizi Kodwa knew about the Phala Phala burglary and opted to keep the matter a secret, rather than reporting it to the appropriate authorities. It has also been alleged Kodwa accompanied Major-General Wally Rhoode, the head of the Presidential Protection Unit, during secret interactions between the South African and Namibian authorities; and

Reports had emerged that a secret crime intelligence fund had been used to finance the undercover operations which traced the thieves, with the goal of recovering the stolen money. It has been alleged almost R2 million a month from this fund was spent to send an elite special task force to guard President Cyril Ramaphosa’s private game farm. Should this be true, this would constitute a flagrant abuse of taxpayers’ money.

Last week, Mapisa-Nqakula found the proposed Section 89 motion by the African Transformation Movement compliant with the rules of the National Assembly.

“She has since asked parties in parliament to recommend persons to form part of an independent panel of experts, to which the motion and accompanying evidence will be referred for

assessment,” Mothapo said.

Meanwhile, Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) leader Dr Pieter Groenewald said his party would be nominating criminal justice expert Dr Llewellyn Curlewis to serve on the panel tasked with deciding whether there is sufficient evidence for the impeachment of Ramaphosa.

“If sufficient evidence is found, the National Assembly could institute a process in terms of Section 89 of the constitution to remove the president from office,” Gronewald said.

“The FF Plus’ decision to nominate Dr Curlewis is motivated by his proven experience and expertise relating to South African criminal law. He is known to be an

objective individual without political ties whose decision on the matter will be guided solely by merit and criminal law principles.”

The FF Plus, which is part of a forum of political opposition leaders who agree that committees must be established in parliament to hold the ANC government accountable.

Groenewald said it was “lamentable the president was willing to take the chance of going through the process rather than to take the public into his confidence”.

“The FF Plus fully concurs with other opposition leaders that the executive authority and the president are accountable to parliament and, therefore, supports the process that will call him to account for the Phala Phala millions,” he said.

Process could remove the president from office