South Africa‘s anti-corruption watchdog has said President Cyril Ramaphosa “deliberately misled” parliament about a 500,000 rand ($35,900) donation he received for his campaign to lead the African National Congress (ANC).
Ramaphosa, who replaced former President Jacob Zuma last year and then went on to win a presidential election by pledging to tackle corruption, had denied knowledge of the donation by services company Bosasa when he was asked about it in parliament in November.
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, who investigates allegations of wrongdoing by state officials, told reporters on Friday that Ramaphosa had violated the constitution and breached the executive code of ethics in his parliamentary reply.
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Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller, reporting from Pretoria, said Mkhwebane has referred her report to the ethics committee of parliament, which is likely to investigate further.
“Their findings will determine what happens next, but this also doesn’t stop members of parliament applying for a motion of no-confidence to the speaker,” she added. “It’s not certain that that will happen but it’s certainly an option, at this point.”
The public protector also found that the manner in which the donation was channeled through several accounts, including the account of the Ramaphosa campaign, of raised suspicion of money laundering.
Zuma pulls out of commission inquiryÂ
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa’s predecessor on Friday pulled out of an inquiry probing wide-ranging allegations of graft in government and state-owned companies during his nine-year tenure, asserting that he was being treated unfarily.
Zuma was due to give a final day of evidence on Friday after the inquiry was adjourned on Wednesday when he complained that the questioning was effectively a court cross-examination.
“We are here today to say that we will take no further part in these proceedings,” Zuma’s lawyer, Muzi Sikhakhane, told the inquiry commission in Johannesburg.
“Our client from the beginning … has been treated as someone who was accused,” he said.
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Zuma, who has faced accusations of overseeing mass looting of state assets popularly referred to as “state capture”, had dismissed all allegations made against him by previous witnesses to the inquiry, calling them part of an international intelligence conspiracy that began more than 25 years ago to assassinate his character.
He has been questioned about his close relationship with the wealthy Gupta family and allegations that they exerted influence over cabinet appointments and state contracts.
In 2018, he resigned in the face of growing pressure from his ruling ANC party and replaced by Ramaphosa, his deputy at the time.
Miller said that at a time where South Africa’s focus on state corruption is especially high, Ramaphosa’s implication in fraud takes the ruling ANCÂ party “a step back in terms of fighting corruption”.
“[The ANC] will face a lot of questions from both parliament and the public around what happens next, and how this has opened up yet another president to similar questions and perhaps a fate of being removed from office,” she said.
SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies