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IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
ActionSA threatens legal action against IPID over delayed Phala Phala report
President Cyril Ramaphosa's Phala Phala farm in Limpopo was the site of a widely publicised 2020 burglary where over US$580,000 in cash was allegedly stolen. Image: IOL IF the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) fails to deliver its report related to the Phala Phala investigation by the new deadline of June 30, ActionSA will pursue legal action, the party warned. The party had applied for access to the report under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) but Ipid requested a 30-day extension, citing issues with their email system. The investigation centres on an alleged cover-up of a 2020 theft involving large sums of US dollars hidden under couches on President Cyril Ramaphosa's Phala Phala farm in Limpopo. Despite no official police case being opened, state resources were reportedly used to trace the suspects, some of whom were located in Cape Town and were allegedly assaulted to reveal the whereabouts of the remaining money, much of which had already been spent on luxury vehicles, jewellery, and property in Namibia. In 2022, the African Transformation Movement (ATM) asked Ipid to investigate an alleged police cover-up. But when ATM leader Vuyo Zungula raised the issue through a Parliamentary question, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said the report was 'top secret' and would not be shared with the public. ActionSA contends that the classification of the report as 'top secret' was unlawful. This follows the Public Protector's finding that members of the Presidential Protection Unit had acted outside of their legal mandate and abused their powers in relation to investigations into the theft at Phala Phala. In April, ActionSA submitted a PAIA application to unseal the Ipid report. 'In late May, after weeks of radio silence, ActionSA received a formal response from Ipid indicating that they would extend the deadline for releasing the report. The reason given for this delay was that Ipid's email system was down. In submitting this response, Ipid has affirmed ActionSA's belief that it does not want the South African public to see the contents of this report,' said ActionSA national chairperson, Michael Beaumont. In light of their suspicions, the party said they had also submitted parliamentary questions to the Minister of Police to determine whether Ipid's system had indeed been down. 'Our concern is that crimes such as those committed at Phala Phala must be investigated by detectives, not by those tasked with protecting the President. ActionSA will not let this matter rest and if the Ipid report is not received by the new deadline of 30 June 2025, legal action will follow,' Beaumont added. Ipid confirmed that it requested an extension, citing technical challenges. 'Yes, Ipid did request an extension regarding the request for the Phala Phala Report because, at the time, the department experienced technical challenges. In terms of Section 26 (1)of PAIA, the Information Officer, to whom the request for access has been made or transferred, may extend the period of 30 days referred in section 25(1), once for a period not more than 30 days. IPID's information Officer will, therefore, respond to the requester, since we are within the 30-day extension period,' Ipid spokesperson, Lizzy Suping said. Zungal said the longer this report is withheld, 'the clearer it becomes that IPID is either being manipulated, or has chosen to become a political accessory rather than an independent institution serving the people of South Africa'.
IOL News
30-04-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
ActionSA enters Phala Phala battleground
ActionSA has filed a PAIA application to gain access to the IPID report in to the Phala Phala matter. Image: Ayanda Ndamane THE fight to hold President Cyril Ramaphosa accountable over the Phala Phala saga appears far from over as ActionSA has now set its sights on having access to the information that led to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate's (Ipid) report being shelved from the public. The investigation relates to the alleged cover up of the theft of hundreds of thousands of US dollars in cash from Ramaphosa's couches on his Phala Phala farm, in Limpopo in 2020. Despite there being no police case opened, state resources including sophisticated machines used to intercept devices were used to track down the suspects who stole the cash. Once found, among them in Cape Town, the suspects were allegedly assaulted to disclose the whereabouts of the remaining cash. Some of it had already been spent on high end vehicles, jewellery and property in Namibia. In 2022, the African Transformation Movement (ATM) wrote to Ipid requesting an investigation into the alleged police cover-up. However, in a written reply to a parliamentary question by ATM leader Vuyo Zungula in February, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, said the report related to the investigation was "top secret" and would not be made public, sparking public outcry. ActionSA weighed in on the matter on Tuesday by confirming that it recently submitted an application, in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), to obtain the Ipid report. In response to the Cape Times' questions, Ipid confirmed they received the application but maintained the report remained classified. 'IPID received a request for information from ActionSA on April 22, 2025. Their request was acknowledged on April 23, 2025 and (they) were advised to provide more detail on their request as well as to use the correct form, which was emailed to them. 'In terms of PAIA, our turnaround time to respond to any requests for information is 30 days. It should also be noted that the Phala Phala Report remains classified,' said Ipid spokesperson Lizzy Suping. ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont has maintained that despite several reports, the public still 'does not have access to the information it rightfully deserves'. Classifying a report top secret according to parliamentary policies was only applicable to information that could lead to the declaration of war, the severing of diplomatic ties between states, significant damage to inter-institutional operations, or the disruption of strategic information planning qualifies for such a classification, said the party. 'It must be stressed that a Cabinet policy is subordinate to higher legislation, including the Promotion of Access to Information Act and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The filing of this PAIA application is a fulfilment of our promise to demand transparency from the grand coalition government and to ensure that its leaders act with ethical consideration. ActionSA will continue to serve as an uncompromised, unofficial opposition, filling the void left by former opposition parties that stampeded for power last year. Transparency is not optional. It can never be subjected to political compromise, and it is needed now more than ever, with a colossal GNU constituting 70% of the South African Parliament. South Africans deserve answers on Phala Phala, and ActionSA's application is one step towards ensuring those answers are delivered," Beaumont said. The party was also willing to take the matter to court if necessary. Reacting to ActionSA's application, Zungula, who has also called for the report to be made public, said: 'This is a good move in the fight for accountability and the rule of law. People occupying public office must know they will be held accountable and their actions will be scrutinised even if they attempt to conceal wrongdoing. Transparency is critical to ascertain which public institutions acted in violation of law. The PPS unit attached to the President is still operating yet they were involved in a police cover-up.'
