Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has come under fierce pressure to release Phala Phala report, following its declassification.
Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has come under intense pressure to release the Phala Phala report following his announcement that it had been declassified.
This is after Cachalia confirmed that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) report into the Phala Phala farm scandal was declassified on February 2.
Cachalia, who was responding to a written question from the African Transformation Movement (ATM), indicated that the report would not be made available to the public, adding that it would only be accessible through the proper legal processes.
Cachalia also stated that any legally obtained version of the report would likely to be heavily redacted.
This sparked a public outcry, with civil rights organisations such as Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) calling for the Minister to make the report available to the general public, as many remain wary of Cachalia’s warning that the report may be redacted.
The Phala Phala scandal, also known as “Farmgate”, involves the 2020 theft of an estimated $580,000 in cash (initially alleged to be $4 million) hidden in furniture at President Cyril Ramaphosa's private game farm in Limpopo.
The incident remained secret until June 2022, after former spy chief Arthur Fraser filed a criminal complaint. Fraser accused Ramaphosa of money laundering, kidnapping, and bribery to recover the funds without reporting the theft to the police.
Ramaphosa maintains that the money was legitimate proceeds from the sale of 20 buffalo to Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa and that he reported the matter to his head of security.
Outa’s CEO, Wayne Duvenage, said the report should be made available and in an unredacted format, adding that the report poses no threat to the state secrets.
Duvenage added that Ramaphosa, as the head of state, must be above reproach.
“These investigations are done on behalf of South Africans with our money and should be made public. The President can’t profess that he wants to fight corruption and drive good governance in the public sector, and then allow for this report or parts of it to be hidden. We cannot see how this investigation will be any threat to the nation or expose any state secrets,” he said.
This comes after ActionSA on Monday called for the immediate release of the report.
The report (under ‘Top Secret’ status) was originally classified by IPID under the Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS) in June 2022, to “protect the integrity of the investigation, witnesses, and implicated SAPS members”.
Meanwhile, the MK Party has written to Cachalia’s office requesting the release of the report following the declassification announcement.
In the letter, the party’s Chief Whip, Mmabatho Mokoena-Zondi, argues that the declassification of this report removes the legal basis that previously prevented its disclosure, warning that any further delay in its release raises serious concerns about transparency, accountability and the constitutional right of access to information as envisaged in section 32 of the Constitution and given effect through the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA).
“This matter is of profound national importance. It has significant implications for public confidence in the rule of law, the credibility of the South African Police Service, and the principle that all persons are equal before the law,” she said, adding that the continued withholding of the report, despite its declassified status, creates an unnecessary perception that information is being deliberately withheld from the public and from Parliament.
Cachalia's spokesperson, Kamo Mogotsi, said as stated in the statement issued on Monday, that IPID is the custodian of the report and, as such, is responsible for all aspects relating to the report, including its declassification and all applications for its release.
IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping on Monday said anyone who wants access to the report must submit a PAIA request to the directorate’s information officer.
Political analyst and governance expert Sandile Swana said despite the declassification of the report, there is still no progress.
Swana said the public’s right to know the suspected irregularities and activities of the President must not be hampered by 'people such as Cachalia, redacting and restricting reports'.
“This cannot be part of transparency and accountability in South Africa. Reports must all be released fully without redactions,” he said.
ATM leader Vuyo Zungula, whose parliamentary question prompted the declassification announcement, confirmed the party will submit a PAIA application and request that IPID be summoned to present the report to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Police.
manyane.manyane@inl.co.za