It appears the ghost of Phala Phala continues to haunt President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Recently ActionSA, which has appeared to be amenable to the flattery of the ANC, seems to have turned on Ramaphosa in its plight for relevance.
In a statement released on Monday, ActionSA announced it has formally submitted an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) to obtain the Independent Police Investigative Directorate's (Ipid) report on the theft at Ramaphosa's Phala Phala farm. The Herman Mashaba-led party has threatened to take the matter to the high court if necessary.
ActionSA's agenda comes after the recent response to parliament by police minister Senzo Mchunu when he claimed the report was classified top secret and could not be released to the public.
According to Mchunu, Ipid completed an investigation into the Phala Phala saga in October 2023.
The reaction by political parties has been warranted. While political parties have used the Phala Phala saga to leverage for votes, one cannot argue against the validity of their arguments.
Political parties have for years indicated how every law enforcement agency has failed to hold either the president or those involved accountable.
Political parties have for years indicated how every law enforcement agency has failed to hold either the president or those involved accountable.
They have called Mchunu's “top secret” classification of the report an insult to democracy.
The EFF said: “The classification of the Ipid report as ‘top secret’ is the latest chapter in the systematic cover-up. Parliament has a duty to oversee the executive, but it is being rendered powerless by a government that protects its leader at all costs. The EFF will not stand by while Ramaphosa continues to evade justice.”
The DA had until recently called for transparency from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on its investigations. In October last year, the DA called into question the decision by Limpopo's director of public prosecutions not to prosecute anyone in relation to the Phala Phala scandal.
“The NPA, and in particular advocate [Shamila] Batohi, has a serious constitutional obligation to ensure justice is not only done but is seen to be done. A decision of this magnitude requires far more transparency, given its implications for the rule of law in South Africa. We will not rest until the decision is properly reviewed, and we urge Batohi to fulfil her constitutional duties in upholding the integrity of our legal system.”
Despite the public's right to know the full scale of the scandal, the stain with which it has affected Ramaphosa's presidency and the historical anxiety of many South Africans over the impunity of the ANC, the decision by Mchunu should not go unnoticed.
ActionSA puts it plainly that the decision by Mchunu is reminiscent of many of his predecessors who were found to have used their positions to protect their boss.
Not so long ago, a police minister's clumsy attempts to pull the wool over South Africans' eyes by presenting a swimming pool as a fire pool led in part to the demise of the ANC.
Even the ANC can identify how far it has fallen. Speaking recently, the ANC's cub Collen Malatji admitted the integrity of the ANC's messaging is tainted. Malatji argued that whatever comes out from the ANC, it is automatically pronounced as a lie because the party has lost its integrity to deliver messages that can be trusted.
Malatji must wonder why that is when the party and its deployees continue with the same traditions. If the president and his police minister were without fault, what is there to hide? Even if the report on Phala Phala is classified top secret, the integrity of the messenger has been questionable, tainting the credibility of Mchunu's words.
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