South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing a threat of impeachment after an independent inquiry found preliminary evidence that he violated his oath of office.
It emerged in June that an estimated $4 million was stolen from Mr Ramaphosa’s farm in 2020, raising questions about how the billionaire president, who took to power on the promise to fight graft, acquired the cash and whether he declared it.
The president has denied any wrongdoing, and has not been charged with any crimes.
“I categorically deny that I have violated this oath in any way, and I similarly deny that I am guilty of any of the allegations made against me,” Mr Ramaphosa said in a statement issued by the South African presidency.
The speaker of South Africa’s parliament set up an independent panel to enquire whether the president should be impeached over the incident.
Releasing its findings on Wednesday, the panel said it was evident that Mr Ramaphosa put himself into a situation where there was a conflict of interest between his official responsibilities as president and as business person involved in cattle and game farming, and acted in a manner that was inconsistent with his office.
“In all the circumstances, we think that the evidence presented to the Panel, prima facie, establishes that the President may be guilty of a serious violation of certain sections of the constitution,” the report found.
The panel said Mr Ramaphosa should face further scrutiny on his ability to stay in office.
The report is separate from a criminal investigation that is being conducted by police, and which Mr Ramaphosa has welcomed.
The president - who visited the London last week on the first state visit of King Charles III’s reign - is less than a month away from an elective conference that will decide if he gets to run for a second term on the governing African National Congress’s (ANC) ticket at 2024 polls.
John Steenhuisen, the leader of South Africa’s main opposition party, the liberal Democratic Alliance (DA), said Mr Ramaphosa was in a tight bind.
“The report itself leaves the president in a virtually untenable position, particularly as it relates to his own party’s step aside rules and the strong line that he has taken against others within his party,” he said, referring to Mr Ramaphosa’s insistence that any party official accused of corruption leave office pending investigations.
Mr Ramaphosa was expected to answer questions from lawmakers in parliament on Thursday, but delayed his appearance requesting time to consider the panel’s report.
Parliament said in a statement the presidency had written to the chairperson of South Africa’s upper house of parliament requesting the postponement, noting the panel’s recommendations had “implications for the stability of the country”.
Mr Ramaphosa asked for space to “carefully consider the contents of the report and the next course of action to be taken”, and the National Council of Provinces chairperson acceded to the request for a delay, the statement read.
The chances of impeachment are slim given the ANC’s dominance of parliament, where it holds 230 seats, about 58% of the total, and typically votes along party lines.
Impeaching a president requires a two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament.
The panel’s recommendations are not binding on parliament. This would be the first time a so-called Section 89 process would be used since its adoption in 2018 as an initial step towards removing a sitting president of South Africa.
If lawmakers decide to forge ahead with the process, the next stage would be the establishment of an Impeachment Committee with far greater powers. This Impeachment Committee has the power to recommend that the president be removed from office.
