By: Natasha Archary
President Cyril Ramphosa will challenge the findings of the Section 89 report, this according to his legal team.
Peter Harris, the President’s attorney issued a statement on Sunday confirming Ramaphosa’s decision to put forward a review of the report.
“We received instructions some days ago from the President to take the panel’s report and recommendations contained therein on review to the Constitutional Court. Papers will be filed shortly.”
This comes after the panel found evidence of a prima facie case against the President regarding the concealment of the $4 million from his Phala Phala farm.
Listen to the analysis on Point of View here:
While the panel says there’s evidence of $580 000 from the farm, the report did suggest that there may have been more money in a foreign currency hidden elsewhere on the President’s property.
Ramaphosa chose not to attend a Q&A session after the report was handed over to the Speaker of the National Assembly, citing that he needed time to review the findings.
Claiming the money that was stolen from under a mattress at his Limpopo farm was from a “mystery” Sudanese businessman who bought 20 buffalo, Ramaphosa refuses to accept that he violated the conditions of his role as President.
Despite growing calls for the President to step down, the decision around whether Ramaphosa will face criminal charges lies in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
While the report did find the President may have committed several violations, the purpose of the report is not to distinguish whether or not Ramaphosa is guilty and that decision rests with the courts.
With a number of opposition parties calling for the President’s resignation, it doesn’t seem that Ramaphosa will go down without a fight.
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