ATM files legal challenge to acting public protector's Phala Phala report

The African Transformation Movement has filed a legal challenge to acting public protector advocate Kholeka Gcaleka's Phala Phala report, accusing her of failing to probe the matter with an “open and enquiring mind”.

President Cyril Ramaphosa was accused of covering up a burglary and theft of money from his game farm in February 2020.

Gcaleka found the president did not violate the Executive Ethics Code. She investigated whether Ramaphosa declared all his interests, whether he had a conflict of interest pertaining to his constitutional obligations versus his private interests, and whether he abused his power by reporting the theft to his head of security and not the police.

On Monday, ATM filed a motion in the Pretoria high court to declare Gcaleka's findings “inconsistent with the constitution and invalid”. The party also wants the report reviewed and set aside and is seeking a costs order against the public protector.

ATM president Vuyolwethu Zungula, in his founding affidavit, accused Gcaleka of failing to “conduct her investigation in the manner required by sections 6 and 7 of the Public Protector Act”.

“She ignored crucial evidence and failed to apply her mind to the impact of the evidence before her. She failed to obtain relevant evidence necessary for her investigation and she reached various conclusions in an irrational manner.

“The aggregated result of the acting PP's cumulative errors demonstrate that the outcome of her investigation was a foregone conclusion. She did not conduct the investigation with an open and enquiring mind,” he said.

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