Johannesburg: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has escaped impeachment after a controversial vote in Parliament in Cape Town late on Tuesday afternoon, but his ruling African National Congress (ANC) faces new challenges. Four of its senior members refused to toe the party line and voted against its instruction.
The Parliament session had been convened after two delays for members to debate a report which found that Ramaphosa might have breached his constitutional obligations, in what has become known as the Phala Phala debacle -- named after the farm where he breeds exotic cattle and other animals.
Among the four leaders is Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, former wife of ousted president Jacob Zuma. She has been vying against Ramaphosa for the ANC presidency for which elections will take place this weekend. Another contender for the top ANC position, Lindiwe Sisulu, walked out of the proceedings before the voting started.
The overwhelming majority of the ANC in Parliament meant that opposition parties failed to secure enough votes in favour of adopting the report, with 148 parliamentarians voting for it, 214 against it and two abstentions. Earlier, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula denied a request from the opposition to allow a secret ballot, so that those members of the ANC who were in favour of adoption could vote with their conscience.
This did not deter Dlamini-Zuma and her colleagues Mervyn Dirks, Mosebenzi Zwane and Supra Mahumapelo from defying the instructions from top ANC executives. As a disciplined member of the ANC, I vote, yes, she said to a thunderous applause from the opposition benches.
The defiance has created a new dilemma for the top ANC executives as they head into a conference this weekend, which analysts have predicted will be a very fiery one. Already, one ANC branch has filed an application for a court interdict for it not to go ahead unless the Executive releases raw data of the nominations list that will be voted for at the Conference.
The incident at Ramaphosa's private game farm hit the headlines earlier this year after millions of dollars which were allegedly hidden in furniture at the farm were allegedly stolen by burglars. Ramaphosa is said to have failed to report the incident to the authorities concerned and spent several months without explaining where the money came from until he told the inquiry that it was from the sale of games.
The other issue was that according to South African law, large amounts of foreign currency cannot be kept by individuals without requisite declarations or permissions. The report of the panel, which was headed by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, was handed to the Speaker of the National Assembly a fortnight ago, clearing the way for a possible impeachment action against Ramaphosa. (PTI)
