The Office of the Presidency has issued a statement in response to a newspaper report, which surfaced over the weekend. The Star had asserted that Cyril Ramaphosa was lining-up a possible route to have Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane arrested – but the head of state is reportedly fuming with the accusations.
Mkhwebane had her controversial report into the SARS Rogue Unit set aside by the North Gauteng High Court last week, calling her competency into question. It was alleged that the president was hoping to file perjury charges against the Public Protector – yet it seems like this grandiose suggestion is nothing more than a tall tale.
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Cyril and the PP have clashed numerous times in court over the past 18 months, with Mkhwebane failing to win a single case against Mr Ramaphosa. There’s bad blood between the pair, but there is little substance to these latest rumours.
Athi Geleba, Head of Digital Communications in the Presidency, issued a response on behalf of Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday. The statement slams the publication for ‘providing no evidence’ to back-up their accusations, and branded the article itself as a piece of ‘reckless journalism that deserves to be dismissed’. It’s a very strong reaction indeed…
“The Presidency dismisses as a complete fabrication a report that appeared in The Star today, 14 December 2020, titled, ‘CR plotting PP’s arrest’. The report makes claims about President Cyril Ramaphosa and Presidency staff that are simply false and for which the newspaper provides no evidence… He will never interfere in any criminal investigation.”
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“President Ramaphosa has no knowledge of, nor any involvement in, the matters to which the article refers. The Star makes very serious claims about the President’s conduct without any factual basis. It is irresponsible and reckless journalism that deserves to be dismissed out of hand. The President is firmly committed to the rule of law,” Geleba wrote.
The report makes claims about President Cyril Ramaphosa and Presidency staff that are simply false and for which the newspaper provides no evidence.
President Ramaphosa has no knowledge of, nor any involvement in, the matters to which the article refers.
— ATHI GELEBA 🇿🇦 (@AthiGeleba) December 14, 2020
The President is firmly committed to the rule of law and due process. He has never and will never interfere in any criminal investigation or other legal process.
— ATHI GELEBA 🇿🇦 (@AthiGeleba) December 14, 2020
