Johannesburg - The uMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans' Association (MKMVA) has reacted strongly against President Cyril Ramaphosa, calling for him to step down following the damning findings made by the Section 89 independent inquiry against him.
On Wednesday evening, the National Assembly (Parliament) made public the report of the Judge Sandile Ngcobo-led panel.
The panel found that Ramaphosa might have violated several sections of the Constitution and that he has a prima facie case to answer.
On Thursday, MKMVA spokesperson Carl Niehaus said the disbanded military wing of the ANC welcomed the panel’s report.
"The MKMVA warmly welcomes the principled and courageous findings of the report of the Section 89 inquiry panel (popularly known as the independent panel) that was chaired by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo to Parliament. The findings that Cyril Ramaphosa has a very serious prima facie case to answer with regard to the Phala Phala farmgate scandal confirm the long-held view of MKMVA, which we have expressed publicly on numerous occasions, that Ramaphosa has committed serious crimes, in addition to having violated his oath of office in the most flagrant manner."
Niehaus said the MKMVA expected Ramaphosa to voluntarily step down from his position as ANC president and that of the country.
"MKMVA now urges Ramaphosa to act with a semblance of integrity and to save the ANC and all of South Africa from further embarrassment and international humiliation by doing the right thing and to fall on his sword and resigning immediately. There should actually not have been a need for a parliamentary process to impeach him. He must resign," he said.
The call for Ramaphosa's resignation was echoed by presidential candidate Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma who called for the president's resignation in response to the panel's findings.
Dlamini Zuma was speaking during an interview on JJ Tabane’s show on eNCA on Wednesday.
She said that under the ANC’s step-aside rules, it would be the perfect time for the president to show that he respected the rules of the ANC.
"If you go and read the ANC step-aside rule, I think he should step aside. I think the president should step aside now and answer the case," Dlamini Zuma said.
Retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo handed the Section 89 report to National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
The panel found prima facie evidence against the president following allegations against him concerning the robbery at his game farm in February 2020, when millions of dollars in foreign currency were allegedly stolen and later recovered in Namibia. The president failed to report the matter to law enforcement agencies and also failed to declare the money and its source of origin, which complicated the matter.
The Star