Cyril Ramaphosa: South African president faces threat of impeachment over ‘Farmgate’

Source: BBC. By Pumza Fihlani & Elsa Maishman

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing a possible impeachment threat over the “Farmgate” scandal.

The president has been accused of covering up a $4m (£3.3m) theft from his farm in 2020, including kidnapping and bribing the burglars into silence.

A three-volume report from an independent panel has found that Mr Ramaphosa abused his position and may have broken an anti-corruption law.

He has denied wrongdoing, and said just $580,000 of cash was stolen.

He said the money was from selling buffalo.

The panel’s findings have been handed to parliament, which is set to examine them and decide whether or not to launch impeachment proceedings next week.

The report has led to calls for him to resign.

Mr Ramaphosa is less than a month away from a conference which will decide if he can run for a second term with his party, the African National Congress (ANC), in 2024. The incident could be particularly damaging as Mr Ramaphosa ran for office on an anti-corruption ticket.

The top body of the ANC is meeting later on Thursday and is expected to discuss the report.

The president’s meeting with provincial lawmakers, planned for Thursday, has been postponed to give Mr Ramaphosa time to study the panel’s findings – perhaps the first indication that the president is facing pressure to not continue with business as usual. Readmore