Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane, whose complaint to Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane was one of those which led to her report finding that President Cyril Ramaphosa violated the constitution and misled parliament, has reacted to the president’s announcement that he will seek an urgent judicial review of the report, which he called “fundamentally and irretrievably flawed”.
Maimane tweeted: “I note the decision by the president to seek judicial review as it is his right to do so. It’s equally vital for parliament to establish for itself, whether the [president] misled it. This is crucial for accountability. The rule of law is applicable to all. Will await finding.”
He added, in a separate tweet, that he hoped the president wouldn’t be using taxpayers’ money for his legal challenge to the report.
“I will request that the president gives assurance that he will not be using public money to defend himself in a matter regarding campaign finance. He raised enough money for [the] campaign, he can raise the same for [his] legal defence,” Maimane said.
READ MORE: Ramaphosa is no different to Zuma and his actions are ‘illegal, period!’ – Ndlozi
This view puts Maimane in rare agreement with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), or at least their national spokesperson, Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi.
Ndlozi tweeted something similar on Sunday night: “I hope the CR17 campaign will be paying the legal costs for the court review application by Ramaphosa. Leave taxpayers’ money alone Mr President.”
Adding to the sense that Maimane and EFF are on the same page on this one, EFF leader Julius Malema retweeted a few tweets apparently supporting of the DA leader, including one from lawyer Tumi Sole saying Maimane was “rattling the feathers” with his call for assurance that Ramaphosa wouldn’t fight his legal battle with public funds, and one from a user with the handle @EFFexplained with screenshots that sought to prove that “DA white members/supporters are not happy with Mmusi holding the executive accountable”, with the tweet further alleging that these white supporters were out “in defence of Ramaphosa”.
Continuing his thread of tweets, Maimane said: “Let the NPA investigate and let’s determine if there can be a different outcome. Furthermore, my call for an ad-hoc committee still stands. Parliament must hold the president to account regardless of who occupies the office without fear or prejudice.”
In another, he evoked the memory of politician and activist Helen Suzman, a founding member of the Progressive Party which later became the DA: “Times like these remind me of when Helen Suzman was asked to stop raising questions in parliament that embarrassed the country. She replied by saying, ‘It is the answers, not the questions, that are embarrassing’. Truth is truth, no matter how uncomfortable.”