SAMKELO MTSHALI
EFF leader Julius Malema has alleged that President Cyril Ramaphosa wanted to step down after confessing to members of his faction that he had no defence on the Phala Phala farm stolen money, but was persuaded by his faction not to step down.
Malema revealed during a press conference on Thursday that Ramaphosa had told members of his faction that the $4 million (R69m) stolen at his Phala Phala Game Farm, in Limpopo, in February 2020 was illegal and that he had no answers and therefore wanted to step down.
“It is alleged that amongst others it was Zamani Saul, Oscar Mabuyane, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams and them who said to him that he must not resign, they will defend him.
“The President has made a confession to his faction, and to his core, that he has got no moral defence to those things. That’s why you see the president can’t answer parliamentary questions or to any question,” Malema said.
He added that Ramaphosa had no reason not to answer because he had not been charged and could not claim that the matter was sub judice.
Earlier this month, the Red Berets said that scandals such as the Marikana Massacre, Bosasa, and the recent Phala Phala Game Farm theft, proved that the love of money will be the downfall of “the greedy Cyril Ramaphosa”.
The Phala Phala Game Farm scandal was exposed earlier this year by former spy boss Arthur Fraser after opening a case against Ramaphosa for the $4m stolen from his game farm in 2020, an incident which he did not report to authorities.
At the weekend, DA leader John Steenhuisen said that Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s refusal to establish an ad-hoc committee, to investigate allegations surrounding the theft was a direct and deliberate move by parliament to shield the executive, and Ramaphosa, from the accountability required of them in our constitutional democracy.
“This act is, quite frankly, a case of history repeating itself if we consider Parliament’s refusal, under the ANC, to establish an ad-hoc committee to investigate the allegations surrounding former President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead which turned out to be disastrously true,” Steenhuisen said.
The Presidency did not respond at the time of publishing.