President Cyril Ramaphosa is set for a challenging week, facing two court battles that could have major consequences for his second presidential term.
The first challenge comes from the EFF, which is taking Ramaphosa to the Constitutional Court over the Phala Phala scandal.
The party is seeking accountability for his involvement in the 2020 break-in at his Phala Phala game farm.
Adding to Ramaphosa’s woes, the African Transformation Movement (ATM) has joined the case, submitting papers as a second applicant alongside the EFF.
“Our papers argue that the National Assembly failed in its constitutional duty to hold the Executive accountable. Section 55(2) of the Constitution clearly enjoins Parliament to exercise oversight over the actions of the President and the Executive, ensuring that they are held accountable for their actions,” ATM spokesperson Zama Ntshona said in a statement.
Just two days later, on Thursday, Ramaphosa will be back in the same court to face accusations of stalling access to books for the blind and the visually impaired.
SECTION27, a public interest law centre, will argue that Ramaphosa’s failure to sign the Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB) has denied blind and visually impaired individuals access to reading materials in formats they can access.
The two court battles could potentially deal a significant blow to his presidency, which has already been marred by controversy and scandal.
Today the court is set to hear a case brought by the EFF and the ATM against Ramaphosa, the National Assembly, and his party, the ANC.
The parties are challenging Parliament’s decision not to pursue an impeachment investigation into Ramaphosa’s involvement in the Phala Phala farm scandal that rocked the nation months into his presidency.
At the centre of the scandal is the February 2020 break-in at Ramaphosa’s game farm, which has triggered allegations of corruption and misconduct against the president.
The National Assembly previously rejected a motion to remove Ramaphosa from office in December 2022, despite several investigations into the matter, including those conducted by the Reserve Bank and the Public Protector.
The Ngcobo panel, chaired by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, also concluded that Ramaphosa may have broken the Constitution and had a case to answer for, however, was protected by the then governing ANC through a vote in Parliament.
The parties will further argue that Parliament can only reject the conclusions of an independent panel on well-defined, legally valid grounds once the panel has determined there are adequate grounds for impeachment.
EFF leader Julius Malema has accused Ramaphosa of corruption and warned against compromising the country’s future by tolerating the president’s unaccountability.
Addressing the media during a briefing on Monday, Malema vowed to lead a mass protest in response to the handling of Ramaphosa’s farm scandal.
“We have said before that as long as the EFF is in Parliament Cyril Ramaphosa will be held accountable,” he said.
Ramaphosa will also have to face the same court after he was accused of failing to sign the Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB) which has resulted in a constitutional case being brought before the Apex court.
The case, Blind SA v President of the Republic of South Africa, will be heard on Thursday. The matter involves access to books for the blind and the visually impaired.
The CAB, which was sent to Ramaphosa for signature in February, includes exceptions that would allow materials to be converted into accessible formats without the consent of the copyright holder.
However, Ramaphosa’s delay in signing the bill has resulted in the expiration of a court-crafted exception that was put in place in 2022.
Pearl Nicodemus, representing Blind SA and SECTION27, said that this exception, section 13A, allowed for the conversion of materials into accessible formats without the consent of the copyright holder.
They argue that the delay in signing the bill has resulted in a “book famine” for the blind and the visually impaired, with many being denied access to reading materials in formats they can access.
The case has sparked widespread concern, with many organizations, including SECTION27, Recreate, Right to Know, and SADTU, coming out in support of Blind SA.
The organisations have also planned a picket outside the Constitutional Court on Thursday against Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa’s referral of the CAB to the Constitutional Court has also been criticised, with some arguing that it was a delaying tactic.
“If the court-crafted exception is resuscitated and, once again, read into CAB, it will not only remove barriers that persons who are blind or visually impaired have experienced for decades when trying to convert materials into formats they can read, but will also allow SA to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty.
“This treaty will allow persons who are blind or visually impaired in SA to engage in the cross-border exchange of reading materials and will open up access to hundreds of thousands of titles in accessible formats, moving us one step closer to ending the book famine in SA,” Nicodemus said.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, responding to The Star, said the president would communicate via court documents.
“We will respond through our papers. Beyond that, there’s nothing more we can say,” he said.
Political analyst Sandile Swana said that it was inevitable that the president be taken to court by both organisations.
“The issue of Phala Phala, we all kow that it must go to court because there was a face-value case that was made by Sandile Ngcobo.
“The one of the CAB, what is puzzling is why the president had not asked for an extension of the previous court order so that while he is busy with making preparations and making sure that the bill fully complies with the Constitution, there is still something in place that is being used,” he asked.
The Star
mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za