Phala Phala: UDM gives NPA until 1 June to charge Ramaphosa

UDM sets deadline for NPA to charge Ramaphosa following his decision to drop the challenge against the Phala Phala report.

On Monday, 22 May, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced he would no longer be challenging the Section 89 Phala Phala report in court. In the wake of the announcement, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) called on the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) to charge him.

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RAMAPHOSA DROPS CHALLENGE OF PHALA PHALA REPORT

The report, which was released in December 2022. found that there was prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa violated his Constitutional oath of office and broke the law by failing to report the 2020 burglary of his game farm.

Ramaphosa approached the Constitutional Court to have the report reviewed and set aside. However, the Apex Court dismissed the approach in March and indicated that the President should approach a High Court to hear the matter.

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On Monday, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya announced that the President would no longer be pursuing the matter due to advice suggesting that the issues around the report were made moot when the ANC-majority National Assembly opted not to adopt the report.

“The president has been advised, which advice he’s accepted, that the panel report and all issues associated with it have become moot, and they are of no practical and legal consequence because, on the 13th of December 2022, the National Assembly decided to reject the motion to refer the panel report to an impeachment committee.

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“The president has thus been advised not to institute proceedings before the High Court for the review and setting aside of the panel report at this stage. President Ramaphosa reserves his right to bring such proceedings in due course should the circumstances change,” said the presidency spokesperson per EWN.

UDM GIVES NPA A DEADLINE

On Monday, UDM President Bantu Holomisa said the legal challenge of the report never had any legal merit and described it as a means to mislead Parliament “into [believing] that the matter was ‘before the  courts’.”

Holomisa wants the Advocate Shamila Batohi, the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP),  to charge Ramaphosa was breaking Section 34 of the Prevention of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA), based on the findings of the Section 89 report.

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“Given the seriousness of the matter and the NDPP’s failure to act thus far, she is given until 1 June 2023 to charge Mr Ramaphosa, failing which the appropriate court will be approached on an urgent basis to compel her to do so,” said Holomisa.