DA silent on Ramaphosa's admission of links to Maumela, a key figure in Tembisa Hospital 'looting' scandal

DA Federal Chairperson Helen Zille said President Cyril Ramaphosa's u-turn on acknowledging having met Hangwani Maumela, a key figure implicated in the Tembisa Hospital R2 billion 'looting' scandal is "not (in) the party's lane".

This suggests a calculated move to preserve the delicate Government of National Unity (GNU), political analysts said.

The DA, under the leadership of John Steenhuisen, had consistently pressed Ramaphosa for answers regarding his relationship with Maumela and the details surrounding the Phala Phala farm scandal.

The Tembisa Hospital scandal, highlighted by a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) interim report, implicated Maumela as a key figure in syndicates allegedly siphoning off over R2 billion from the hospital through fraudulent tenders. 

Similarly, the Phala Phala scandal, involving undeclared foreign currency found at Ramaphosa's farm, drew intense scrutiny and demands for transparency from the DA. 

In 2022, during a question and answer session in the National Assembly, DA leader John Steenhuisen asked Ramaphosa about broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) schemes and the impact it has had.

"State Capture Commission showed that BBBEE has been central to corruption in South Africa. Whether it is the R14 billion PPE corruption in Covid-19 or the billions stolen at Eskom. A recent example, one of your own nephew’s (Maumela) companies scored R381 million from Gauteng hospitals. You are right. It does not benefit the majority. It only benefits ANC-connected cronies," Steenhuisen said to Ramaphosa.

Responding to Steenhuisen, Ramaphosa said: “You keep saying, my nephew. I don’t even know this gentleman. So, let’s not even get there. I don’t know him.”

Maumela is Ramaphosa’s nephew through the president’s first wife, Hope Ramaphosa.

He is also said to have strong business links to Ramaphosa’s adviser Bejani Chauke.

Earlier this month, Michele Clarke, the party's spokesperson on health issued a statemen urging Ramaphosa to expand the SIU probe to Maumela, his syndicate, and all other corrupt actors identified by the SIU, saying that Maumela is chasing another R1 billion tender using fake documents.

The DA not only demanded an expanded SIU investigation into Maumela's dealings but also vehemently called for the blacklisting of corrupt companies.

Ramaphosa had consistently denied knowing Maumela and when a video emerged showing him outside of Maumela's house in Sandton, his spokesperson Vincent Magwenya held a press conference on Monday with the Presidency denying any link between Ramaphosa and the alleged fraudster.

“The president maintains that he has no personal relationship with Maumela. He is not related to him, except that he was married to his aunt many years ago.”

Magwenya said Ramaphosa has never been to Maumela’s home.

“We do reject sternly that the president may have been visiting Maumela’s house. That is very far from the truth.”

However, on Tuesday Ramaphosa admitted in Parliament that he had met Maumela twice during walks in his Sandton neighbourhood in 2023 and 2024.

He said that he had previously seen Maumela emerge from a "massive house" under construction, which he later learned was Maumela's.

He went on to describe the circumstances of his subsequent encounters. 

"Later in 2023 I was walking in a street where I usually walk and even this morning my convoy drove past his house... In 2024 I was walking on that same street and a person came out of the house and greeted me. It was the Maumela that was putting my name in disrepute. I walked away to my home."

Political analysts say a noticeable shift has occurred since the formation of the GNU following the 2024 general election. 

While the DA's official statements still allude to the importance of fighting corruption, the fervent public condemnation and persistent questioning that once characterised their engagement on Maumela and Phala Phala have largely subsided. 

This "strategic silence," as political analysts term it, appears to be a direct consequence of the DA's new role as a crucial partner in the GNU.

Political analyst Dr. Sifiso Ncube of the University of Johannesburg said that the DA found itself in a strategic dilemma. 

“On one hand, their core mandate has always been to hold the ruling party accountable and champion good governance. On the other, they are now a crucial partner in a fragile GNU, where their ability to influence policy and potentially govern, is contingent on cooperation and a degree of compromise."

"Helen Zille’s declaration that this specific issue is 'not the party's lane' is a clear signal of the DA’s current priorities. It indicates a deliberate choice to deescalate potential points of friction with their GNU partners, particularly the ANC.

"Aggressively pursuing issues like Ramaphosa's link to Maumela, while ideologically consistent for the DA, could be seen as undermining the very unity they are trying to foster. It could destabilise the GNU and potentially lead to its collapse, which would be detrimental to their long-term political objectives and the stability of the country."

Professor Lebohang Lekota from the University of the Witwatersrand said the DA's silence, and particularly Zille's framing of it, is not an admission of guilt or a sudden change of heart regarding the importance of these issues.

"Rather, it's a pragmatic decision. They understand that pushing too hard on these specific scandals right now could alienate their GNU partners, particularly the ANC, and jeopardise the broader project of national unity."

Lekota suggests that the DA may be calculating that a stable GNU, even with its compromises, offers a greater opportunity to implement their policies and bring about systemic change in the long run.

"They might be banking on the idea that once the GNU is firmly established and trust is built, they can then revisit these issues with more leverage and a stronger hand," she said. 

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