Johannesburg - The Congress of the People (Cope) has called on former state security agency head Arthur Fraser to open a case with the police following reports that his life is in danger.
On Sunday, Independent Media reported that Fraser’s life was being threatened after he exposed the Phala Phala farm robbery at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm back in February 2020. Fraser subsequently opened a case with the Rosebank police on June 1, 2022.
According to the Sunday Independent, a plot to assassinate Fraser was hatched after he allegedly refused a R50 million offer from a Cape Town underworld kingpin to resolve the Phala Phala case against Ramaphosa.
Cope spokesperson Dennis Bloem said in a statement that Fraser should open a case with the police if he feels his life is in danger.
"Arthur Fraser made this bizarre claim in the Sunday Independent newspaper that he has not been sleeping at home for months now. This former Director General of the State Security Agency knows the laws of the country. If he sits with such serious information, he surely knows to give such information to the law enforcement agencies, especially the police, for them to investigate and, if true, arrest those who plan to kill him," Bloem said.
Ever since Fraser opened a case against Ramaphosa, the president has been forced to come clean and explain himself to the people of South Africa.
However, the ANC leader has refused to do so, choosing instead to challenge the recent Section 89 independent panel report, which found that he has a case to answer and that he may have violated his oath of office as well as the constitution. Ramaphosa has gone as far as taking the report to the constitutional court to have the findings of the report set aside.
MPs were initially scheduled to meet last Tuesday to decide if the Section 89 panel report should be adopted. The sitting was moved to December 13 due to logistical issues.
Bloem said Fraser had been quick to report the Phala Phala farm theft to the police and should do the same with the death threats against him.
"Arthur Fraser was quick to run to the police with a hearsay case and lay criminal charges against President Ramaphosa, but when it comes to threats against his own life, he’d rather go to the media and not to the police. This surely raises a lot of questions. We take these claims with a pinch of salt," he said.
The party said law enforcement agencies should take these claims seriously and investigate them as soon as possible.
"Cope calls upon the law enforcement agencies to investigate these serious claims of Arthur Fraser. If they are not true, then he must be criminally charged. Cope finds it curious that Fraser was quick to report the Phala Phala Farm robbery and not keen to report about his death threats," he said.
The Star