MPs Demand Parliament Name President Ramaphosa Over Failure to Act on Police General's Disclosure

• MPs accused a parliamentary committee's draft report of hiding presidential accountability behind the vague phrase 'the state'
• The dispute centred on a 2022 protected disclosure by then deputy national police commissioner Francinah Vuma, which was addressed directly to Ramaphosa
• EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys said there was no evidence before the committee that the president dealt with Vuma's disclosure at all

SOUTH AFRICA - Members of Parliament have demanded that President Cyril Ramaphosa be named explicitly in a parliamentary committee report over his apparent failure to act on a protected disclosure from a senior police official, arguing that the draft conceals his accountability behind the broad phrase "the state".

The confrontation broke out during deliberations on the preliminary report of Parliament's ad hoc committee, which is investigating alleged criminal infiltration and political interference in the criminal justice system.

Vuma's disclosure and what it contained

The disclosure at the centre of the dispute was submitted in July 2022 by then deputy national police commissioner Francinah Vuma. According to Sunday World, she alleged that she was being targeted for removal after resisting unlawful instructions and pursuing investigations into politically sensitive contracts. Vuma stated that she feared for her safety and her career, and that individuals both inside and outside the South African Police Service were pushing for her suspension or transfer.

Read also

EFF's Leigh-Ann Mathys slams Ad Hoc Committee's draft report, says findings were watered down

Her disclosure contained serious allegations, including alleged pressure relating to PPE suppliers, an urgent R8-million payment to the Special Investigating Unit, a R120-million interception-equipment purchase and investigations into contracts valued at billions of rands. Crucially, the disclosure was addressed directly to President Ramaphosa, among other senior officials.

View post here:

"It's not the state"

EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys argued that using the phrase "the state" in the report obscured the core finding the committee should be making. She stated that the report was directed directly to the president.

"There was no evidence in the committee to say that her disclosure was acted on," Mathys said.

Mathys called for Ramaphosa and the other named recipients of the disclosure to be identified in the report by name. She said the committee should find that there was no evidence the president responded to a warning from one of the country's most senior police officers, a disclosure that also contained allegations against senior SAPS officials and then police minister Bheki Cele.

Read also

Panic in Joburg CBD as suspected undocumented foreign nationals llee compliance raid

ActionSA MP Dereleen James described the draft report as having been "materially watered down", contending that it softened the evidence and left out findings the record clearly supported.

3 article on President Ramaphosa and reports

• Briefly News reported that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) demanded the immediate release of two interim reports from the Madlanga Commission, after President Cyril Ramaphosa extended the inquiry's lifespan for a second time.
• President Ramaphosa indicated that he will be taking the Section 89 report that found he may have breached the constitution on review in the high court.
• The African Transformation Movement (ATM) wants the Speaker of the National Assembly to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Ramaphosa following an explosive Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) report.

Source: Briefly News