A scandal has erupted in South Africaas ruling African National Congress (ANC) officials meet to decide whether he should stay chairman Cyril Ramaphosa since it became known that they stole by couch of his house millions, with him never reporting the matter to the authorities.
More specifically, his future is at stake after a panel of independent experts’ report was released on Wednesday into revelations that he hid millions of dollars in cash on his private farm and didn’t even report them stolen in 2020.
The existence of the cash at the Fala Fala cattle farm and the fact that the president did not report the break-in to the police were only revealed last June.
Ramaphosa, who did not attend today’s meeting, denies any wrongdoing and has not been prosecuted. He claims that the money was much less than the 4-8 million reported in the press and that it came from the sale of animals.
“Farmgate”
After the ANC’s National Executive Committee meeting, the party’s Treasurer-General Paul Masatile said the committee would meet again before December 6 to discuss the matter. The conclusions of the investigation are to be debated that day in parliament.
The case may date back to 2020 but it has resurfaced ahead of crucial elections in South Africa and has been dubbed ‘Farmgate’. It all started with a burglary. Ramaphosa, a wealthy businessman before he was elected president, also owns Fala Fala Farm where there is a main house and livestock.
Fraser claims that “more than four million dollars” was hidden in the house and found by the burglars. The money, he says, had been “illegally” brought into the country by a Ramaphosa adviser, on behalf of the president. “The president hid the crime from the police and the taxman,” he said, accusing Ramaphosa of arranging, through the president’s protection agency, to track down the perpetrators and “contain” them before buying their silence.
A small party, the African Transformation Movement (ATM), filed a motion of impeachment against the president.
Source: News Beast
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