ANC grilled on why Ramaphosa didn't bank the money stolen from his Phala Phala farm

CAPE TOWN - The African National Congress (ANC) has faced a lengthy grilling by the Constitutional Court over why President Cyril Ramaphosa did not bank the US dollars stolen from his Phala Phala farm in 2020. 

The court was engaged in a marathon hearing on Tuesday, as the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and African Transformation Movement (ATM) challenged a National Assembly decision not to subject the president to an impeachment inquiry in 2022. 

The ANC told the court the independent panel appointed by the National Assembly Speaker misconstrued its role when it was asked to consider evidence that the president may have breached the law and his oath of office.

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The ANC said it could not merely rubberstamp an independent panel report that suggested there was prima facie evidence for Ramaphosa to face an impeachment inquiry. 

Advocate Tembeka Ngcukatoibi told the court that MPs were duty-bound to satisfy themselves that the report was supported by sufficient evidence.

"On this report, and on these findings, the National Assembly was perfectly rational in arriving at the decision that it did."

But Judge Owen Rogers questioned the ANC's assertion that sufficient evidence didn’t exist for further probing in an inquiry. 

"Eight point seven million rand. Just as a matter of common sense, if a person loses R8.7 million, the person would want to know who the investigating officer is and has it been reported to the police." 

Ngcukatoibi said the panel had heavily relied on hearsay from former spy boss, Arthur Fraser. 

Judgment in the matter has been reserved.