Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
EFF could approach courts amid Ramaphosa spy claims
THE EFF wants to go to court to force President Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint a commission of inquiry to probe allegations that he was an apartheid spy.
The party said yesterday it was taking legal advice on the matter after Ramaphosa refused in Parliament to appoint such a commission.
The EFF said it was important that an independent body be responsible in the appointment of the commission of inquiry.
Spokesperson for the EFF Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, said they could head to the courts.
“The EFF will be taking legal advice on pursuing the appointment of a judicial commission of inquiry. Ramaphosa is conflicted and emotional about the matter. Thus, an independent body must take the decision,” said Ndlozi.
The party wants an inquiry to allow Lekota to place evidence to which Ramaphosa will be given an opportunity to refute.
During the State of the Nation Address (Sona) debate this week, Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota, told Ramaphosa that he will not be joining him on the journey to turn the country around.
He said Ramaphosa had sold out his comrades in the Struggle during the 1970s.
“When it was difficult, you wrote to the Special Branch that we put communist ideas in your head, in doing so you condemned us to the Special Branch. I say this because the branch rewarded you and they sent you home and we headed to Robben Island,” said Lekota.
Ndlozi said Ramaphosa has a lot of explaining to do.
“In his explanation, Ramaphosa has not denounced liberation ideas under interrogation. By his admission, the police wanted him to testify against Lekota and others. The police would not ask him to testify unless he said something incriminating about his comrades,” said Ndlozi.
Before Ramaphosa delivered his Sona, addressing the media on the red carpet, Lekota said he had hoped Ramaphosa would resign. He said he was not the right man for the job.
The ANC has rubbished the allegations, saying they were baseless, and Lekota was a desperate man who had run out of ideas.
“The ANC has full confidence in Ramaphosa, and we do not take kindly to desperate attempts to call into question his integrity,” the party said in a statement issued.
EFF leader Julius Malema, told Ramaphosa he had spoken to Lekota, who divulged to him sworn statements and affidavits that corroborate his claims of Ramaphosa being in contact with apartheid’s special branch.
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation has however condemned the allegations, and charged that leaders should focus on core issues facing the country.
The foundation’s executive director, Neeshan Balton, said Lekota should redirect his efforts to issues affecting the country. He also questioned the delay in making his claims public.
“Why was he unable to raise this issue when Ramaphosa was appointed to lead the drafting of the country’s Constitution, or when Lekota himself was still a member of the ANC?” asked Balton.