An explosive 17-page letter addressed to Deputy President Paul Mashatile surfaced on Thursday, where former president Thabo Mbeki levelled gob-smacking criticisms toward the ANC for using its majority rule in Parliament to protect Cyril Ramaphosa from accountability in the ‘Phala Phala‘ saga.
Thabo Mbeki says ANC abused Parliament in ‘Phala Phala’ scandal
In the scathing letter, dated 29 March 2023, Mbeki made it clear he was addressing Mashatile since late last year, Ramaphosa had excused himself “from meetings of the ANC NWC and NEC when they discussed the Phala Phala matter.”
At the centre of his disgruntlement, Mbeki revealed he was “very disturbed” by the votes ANC MPs cast in the National Assembly on the adoption of the Parliamentary panel report on Phala Phala, in December 2022; the motion on the establishment of an ad-hoc committee to investigate the same matter on 22 March 2023; and the party’s decision to prevent a probe into possible corruption at Eskom.
In November 2022, an independent panel appointed by Parliament to look into Phala Phala found there was prima facie evidence to support a thorough investigation into the theft of $580 000 (est. R10 million) from the president’s game farm in February 2020.
Of course, not only had the ANC used its majority to block all motions for an inquiry into the saga, but a recent report published by the Public Protector’s office all but cleared Ramaphosa from any wrongdoing.
However, in the letter, Mbeki insisted there was more to the saga than meets the eye if SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter had, in a recent report, confirmed that “no record of the declaration to Customs has been found of the US $580 000 Cde President Ramaphosa says was stolen.”
“History has made the firm and unequivocal statement that we should never have acted as we did for a long time — to support Comrade JZ from doing what he ultimately agreed was the right thing to do, i.e. to honour the Remedial Action decided by the Public Protector (Thuli Madonsela),” Mbeki exclaimed.
According to Mbeki, Ramaphosa’s supposed refusal to clear take the nation into confidence in clearing his name contradicts his assertions in an open letter he sent to ANC leaders in August 2020, when he said:
“I write this letter to you, my fellow ANC member, as our movement and our country face one of the greatest challenges since the advent of democracy.
“As the inheritors of the legacy of Luthuli, Tambo and Mandela, we must be honest with our people and ourselves. We must acknowledge that our movement, the African National Congress, has been and remains deeply implicated in South Africa’s corruption problem. We have to be sensitive to the concerns that are being raised by our people about our role as a movement in corrupt activities…”
Mbeki’s entire 17-page scathing letter to Mashatile can be read in full right here.
Here are some of the reactions to the explosive letter, from pundits and politicians.