Best of 2022: Phala Phala – a scandal that nearly took down a presidential administration

It was a scandal that almost brought a president down.

Phala Phala ascended to the top of the South African vernacular in 2022, after former spy commander Arthur Fraser filed criminal accusations against President Cyril Ramaphosa in connection with the undocumented theft of millions of dollars from his game property in 2020.

The controversy began in February 2020, when a band of men, some with Namibian links, stormed into President Ramaphosa’s game farm and stole $4 million without resorting to violence. Ramaphosa has categorically refuted that this was the amount taken and has always stated that it was far less.

A domestic servant within the farm house assisted the accused, it was learned. She was questioned, and the males were tracked down to Cape Town. They had already converted the money into rand by the time they were discovered. Ramaphosa is accused of failing to disclose the robbery.

The crime was finally discovered in June 2022, when Fraser filed accusations against the president, saying that any funds left over after the exchange were returned and the suspects, Immanuwela David, Urbanus Shaumbwako, Erkki Shikongo, Petrus Muhekeni, and Petrus Afrikaner, were rewarded for their quiet.

It is also claimed that one of the suspects was questioned in Namibia by the director of the Presidential Protection Unit, Major-General Wally Rhoode, after an apparent intervention by Namibian President Hage Geingob. Namibian authorities have denied any participation. When the accusations against Fraser were made public, Ramaphosa denied any involvement. The Presidency’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, also questioned Fraser’s timing on the allegations. Meanwhile, Ramaphosa hinted to a political agenda.

As the crisis developed, Ramaphosa’s enemies within and outside the ANC circled and made various measures to get him to leave.

The DA stated that it will write to the SA Revenue Service to request an investigation into whether the $4 million had been disclosed and taxes paid. The party planned to address the SA Reserve Bank about the situation as well.

Tony Yengeni, a fervent Jacob Zuma fan, attempted to persuade the ANC National Executive Committee to urge Ramaphosa to resign. Yengeni also attempted and failed to depose Ramaphosa, and the NWC accepted the president’s report. It stated that it would not divulge its decision until an investigation was completed.

A Section 89 Panel report, on the other hand, came the closest to terminating Ramaphosa’s presidency.

The news occurred after African Transformation Movement leader Vuyo Zungula presented an official resolution on June 14, 2022, requesting that parliament investigate President Cyril Ramaphosa by convening a Section 89 Committee Inquiry into charges that the latter breached Section 89 of the Constitution.

Ramaphosa may have breached his position, according to the group, which was chaired by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo.

On the day after the report was issued on December 1, 2022, there was widespread speculation that Ramaphosa was about to retire, since his office had stated that he planned to address the country later that night. At the last minute, the president’s friends persuaded him to stay and oppose the report, which they deemed weak.

Ramaphosa said, “I categorically deny that I have violated this oath in any way, and I similarly deny I am guilty of any of the allegations made against me”.

Despite the controversy, Ramaphosa strengthened his position in the ANC by gaining a second term as president during the party’s elective conference, which began on December 16 and finished four days later.

He is currently anticipated to lead the party into the General Elections in 2024. It remains to be seen if the Phala Phala issue will come back to haunt Ramaphosa and the ANC with the electorate.