Former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has admitted that the ANC used its parliamentary majority to block the adoption of a Phala Phala report in 2022.
Image: Oupa Mokoena / Independent Newspapers
Former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has admitted that the African National Congress (ANC) used its parliamentary majority in 2022 to block the adoption of a report related to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Phala Phala matter.
Her remarks followed a Constitutional Court ruling that Parliament acted unlawfully when it rejected the Section 89 independent panel report into allegations against Ramaphosa.
The court found the National Assembly’s decision unconstitutional and invalid, and ordered that the vote taken on December 13, 2022 be set aside, with costs awarded against the responding parties.
The panel, appointed under Parliament’s rules, was chaired by Mapisa-Nqakula and included retired judges and senior legal practitioners.
It had found that Ramaphosa may have committed serious misconduct and potentially breached the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act in relation to the alleged theft of foreign currency from his Phala Phala farm in February 2020.
The matter centred on allegations that about $580,000 (approximately R8 million at the time) was stolen from a sofa at the Limpopo farm, prompting questions about whether the incident was properly reported to authorities.
In an interview on the African Renaissance Podcast hosted by former Economic Freedom Fighters MP Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, Mapisa-Nqakula said ANC leadership instructed its parliamentary caucus to reject the report.
This occurred in 2022, when the ANC was in power and held a parliamentary majority.
“Our secretary general, comrade (Fikile) Mbalula, came to caucus and said today is the day we are going to vote, but none of you will vote in favour of this report,” she said.
However, Mbalula was not the party’s secretary general before the 2022 conference. He was elected to the position at the ANC’s 55th National Conference on December 2022.
Before that conference, Paul Mashatile, who is now the deputy president of the party, was the secretary general at the time.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose conduct in the Phala Phala controversy is under renewed scrutiny after the Constitutional Court ruled Parliament acted unlawfully in closing off an impeachment inquiry in 2022.
Image: File
When asked whether the decision reflected an abuse of the ANC’s parliamentary majority, she replied, “I think we did. I hate to say this, but we did.”
She added that the instruction was unnecessary and said Parliament should have handled the matter with greater maturity.
“The Constitutional Court has ruled. I hang my head in shame because we could have done better,” she said.
Mapisa-Nqakula resigned as Speaker of the National Assembly and as an MP in April 2024 amid separate corruption allegations.
She is currently facing 12 counts of corruption and one count of money laundering in the Pretoria High Court, relating to alleged bribes of about R4.5 million during her tenure as defence minister.
The Phala Phala case was brought by the Economic Freedom Fighters and the African Transformation Movement, which argued that Parliament failed in its constitutional oversight duties by not referring the matter for a full impeachment inquiry.
The Constitutional Court ruling effectively requires Parliament to revisit the panel’s findings and reconsider whether to proceed with impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa.
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa says he respects the Constitutional Court’s judgment after it ruled that Parliament’s handling of the Phala Phala matter was unconstitutional and invalid.
He reaffirmed that no person is above the law and that allegations must be subjected to due process without fear, favour, or prejudice.
“The Presidency has noted the judgment of the Constitutional Court in the case brought by the Economic Freedom Fighters challenging the National Assembly’s decision with respect to Section 89 proceedings against the President.”
“President Cyril Ramaphosa respects the Constitutional Court’s judgment and reaffirms his commitment to the Constitution, the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law,” Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said.
He said Ramaphosa has been consistent in providing his full assistance to the various inquiries in the matter.
“President Ramaphosa maintains that no person is above the law and that any allegations should be subjected to due process without fear, favour or prejudice.”
He said Ramaphosa calls on all South Africans to respect the Constitutional Court judgment and all judicial institutions.
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