President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing a crisis of credibility and cannot hide behind procedural smokescreens to avoid giving South Africans the whole truth about the money that was stolen from his farm – and what went on afterwards, says DA leader John Steenhuisen.

Steenhuisen was responding to the news that Arthur Fraser, former director-general of the State Security Agency, laid a criminal complaint against Ramaphosa at the Rosebank Police Station on Wednesday.

Fraser says the charges, including money laundering and kidnapping, relate to the theft of money from the president’s Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in February 2020. Fraser has alleged that more than $4m was stolen.

While Ramaphosa confirmed the theft – but said the money taken was far less than alleged, he denied any wrongdoing in a speech at the Limpopo ANC conference over the weekend. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said in a statement that Ramaphosa was at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa at the time of the theft.

Steenhuisen, however, says the president cannot distance himself from this event, which his party has termed ‘DollarGate’.

“There is no aspect of any police or other investigation that prevents him from taking the country into his confidence with a full and honest account of events. In fact, he has a special obligation to do so, which no other South African has.

“Too many questions remain unanswered. How much money was kept on the farm and in what currency? How much of it was stolen? How did this foreign currency get into the country? How long was it stored on the president’s property? Were the correct exchange controls observed? And does the president still hold foreign currency at his farm or any of his other properties?” Steenhuisen asks.

WATCH: DA leader John Steenhuisen shares his thoughts with Izak du Plessis on the Ramaphosa storm unleashed by Arthur Fraser.

Political commentator Solly Moeng says Fraser’s move was most likely motivated by the factional battle within the ANC.

“Nobody can deny that the radical economic transformation faction, supporting former president Jacob Zuma, is hitting back at Ramaphosa,” says Moeng.

It is, however, mandatory that the president answer to the charges, whether they are political or criminal, says Moeng.

WATCH: Whether or not the claims against Ramaphosa are politically motivated, Ramaphosa must speak out, political commentator Solly Moeng tells Izak du Plessis.

Pieter Groenewald, leader of the Freedom Front Plus, says the president owes it to South Africans to tell the truth.

“President Ramaphosa says he did not steal taxpayers’ money, but nobody is accusing him of that. He should explain how he came to possess so much money in dollars, and why it was not declared to the South African Revenue Services. These are serious charges against the president of a country.”