Ramaphosa drops court challenge against section 89 panel report on Phala Phala

President Cyril Ramaphosa will no longer be pursuing legal action over the Section 89 panel’s report into the Phala Phala scandal.

Addressing the media on Monday, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya confirmed that Ramaphosa would not challenge the report because the matter was now moot.

The president, however, still believed that the report was flawed.

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The Section 89 panel last year had found that Ramaphosa may have a case to answer regarding the theft of foreign currency from his farm in Limpopo in 2020.

The report’s findings prompted Ramaphosa to approach the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) with a review application, but the court ruled that “no case has been made out for exclusive jurisdiction or direct access” and referred to the president a lower court instead.

Parliament last December also voted against the adoption of the report, which would have led to the president facing an impeachment process.

‘Unfounded conclusions’

On Monday, Magwenya explained that the report now no longer had a legal bearing after the majority of MPs rejected it.

“The president has been advised, which advice he has accepted, that the panel report and all issues associated with it have become moot and they are of no practical and legal consequence,” he said.

“While that decision remains valid, the Section 89 panel report carries no weight in law.”

The Presidency spokesperson said Ramaphosa would therefore not challenge Phala Phala report’s findings in court for now.

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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 circumstances change.

“The president maintains his position set out in his founding affidavit before the Constitutional Court that the panel report is reviewable in law on several grounds including the misconception of its mandate, the grave errors of law, and the unfounded conclusions of fact,” Magwenya added.

Watch the briefing below:

In March, Parliament also voted against the establishment of an ad-hoc committee to investigate Phala Phala.

MPs from the African National Congress (ANC) rejected the motion tabled by the Democratic Alliance (DA) because the proposal already had a “predetermined” conclusion that Ramaphosa was guilty.

Public Protector report

Ramaphosa was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Public Protector’s office in a preliminary report into the 2020 robbery.

The 191-page report, released on 10 March, found that there was no basis to conclude that the president contravened the Executive Ethics Code, or “exposed himself to any risk of a conflict between his constitutional duties and obligations and his private interests arising from or affected by his alleged paid work” at his farm.

The release of the Public Protector’s report came after the South African Revenue Service (Sars) confirmed that the $580 000 found at Phala Phala was not declared when it arrived in the country.

Ramaphosa previously claimed to have received the money from Sudanese businessman, Hazim Mustafa, as payment for cattle as part of a legitimate business transaction.

Sars further revealed that the president and his companies – one of them which manages the Phala Phala farm – were compliant with their tax obligations at the time.

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