‘He’s snitching on the president’ — SA weighs in on the DA approaching the FBI to investigate ‘farmgate’

South Africans have resorted to humour in response to DA leader John Steenhuisen's announcement that the party approached the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the US to investigate President Cyril Ramaphosa's “farmgate” scandal.

He said the DA wants the FBI to investigate allegations of possible money laundering against the president and the source of the funds to establish whether the money brought to SA was declared to relevant authorities. 

Steenhuisen said the party went this route because the money stolen from Ramaphosa's farm was in US currency. 

“We have also recommended that the ledgers or journals which recorded the alleged sale of wild game at an auction be requested from the president to determine the identities of those involved in the suspicious cash transactions,” said Steenhuisen. 

He said the DA will keep up the pressure and will not stay silent on the allegations levelled against Ramaphosa. 

“The president may well try to stay silent, but as the opposition, we will not stay silent. Like we pursued [former president] Mr Jacob Zuma, we need to make sure pressure is kept up. It shouldn't matter who the president of SA is. The law must apply to them equally. They must be above reproach and must stick to the values and principles they took and swore to uphold,” said Steenhuisen. 

The DA's stance is in response to allegations by former spy boss Arthur Fraser that Ramaphosa concealed a crime in which millions of dollars were stolen from his Phala Phala farm in February 2020. Fraser laid a criminal charge against Ramaphosa. 

Some on social media poked fun at the DA's approach, saying it will not yield results.

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