Phala Phala Report slammed as “watered down” EFF mulls legal review

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and African Transformation Movement (ATM) have vehemently rejected the report released by Acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka regarding the alleged corrupt activities of Cyril Ramaphosa at Phala Phala farm.

The EFF plans to consult their legal team to explore potential actions, such as reviewing the report.

The purported “flawed” Phala Phala scandal report followed criminal charges filed against Cyril Ramaphosa by Arthur Fraser on June 20, 2022.

Fraser, the former head of the State Security Agency accuses Ramaphosa of obstructing justice by violating the Prevention of Organised Crime Act and the Prevention of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004.

According to Fraser, approximately $4 million, equivalent to R62 million, was discovered hidden inside a couch at Ramaphosa’s residence in the Phala Phala game farm in Waterberg, Limpopo on or around February 9, 2020.

He alleges that the President failed to report the theft and did not declare the existence of such a significant amount of foreign currency to the Reserve Bank, as required by regulations.

Fraser claims that individuals suspected of involvement in the theft were abducted and interrogated at the farm, and were subsequently paid off to ensure their silence regarding the incident.

However, the Public Protector found no evidence of wrongdoing on President Ramaphosa’s part. Despite this, the ATM’s National Spokesperson, Zama Ntshona, deems the report legally flawed, citing the President’s failure to declare large sums of foreign currency to SARS as a violation of regulations, as well as not depositing the cash transaction within the required 30-day period.

Ntshona argues that these actions constitute a crime, and that the President should have been arrested.

The EFF’s National Spokesperson, Sinawo Thambo, accuses the President of money laundering, kidnapping, bribery, and misuse of state resources.

Thambo views the Phala Phala Farm scandal as a clear example of corruption and an attack on South Africa’s economic sovereignty, thus rejecting the report from Kholeka Gcaleka and claiming that it lacks credibility and contradicts principles of governance, law, and logic.