Yesterday someone sent me a message on discord asking me about the South African President and the possible impeachment. This is an interesting story which I thought I would share and shows you why the country is so corrupt as it all filters down from the top. This is not a topic many South Africans really take notice of due to justice never being served as the politicians are generally above the law. No politician ever seems to end up in prison and we have had countless cases of theft and corruption with Zuma being the biggest crook of all crippling the country and he is not behind bars.
A quick background on Cyril Ramaphosa is that he breeds the rare Ankole cattle after being introduced to them on a trip to Uganda in 2004. Unable to import the rare breed into South Africa he bought some cattle from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and had them moved to Kenya where he had the embryos harvested. These were then sent to South Africa for breeding and this is how his heard was created. The Ankole cattle is known for their very large horns and the cattle fetches very big money selling between $80k-$100K each. This I am sure is what caught Ramaphosa's eye being the high value of these cattle.
In February 2020 it was reported that a large sum of cash had been stolen from Rapaphosa's Phala Phala ranch home. The sum of $580K (R15 million at the time) was apparently found in a couch by the housekeeper, but this has been denied stating it was in a cupboard. The couch sounds better, but I guess it probably was in a cupboard. The cash was for payment for cattle that had been sold and had not been declared which is the problem and why there is a possible impeachment.
The housekeeper told her brother who then arranged for a burglary to steal the cash. Four men broke in and stole the cash which took place when Ramaphosa was out of the country in Addis Ababa as the Chairman of the African Union.
Security managed to find out those involved and the housekeeper came clean after being interrogated naming those who took the money. The money was recovered and this was all done on the quiet. The housekeeper and the thieves were paid off for their silence. The housekeeper was rehired and moved to another section on the ranch.
Arthur Fraser who was head of State Security reported the theft and cover up which then resulted in an investigation. Fraser was offered a bribe to drop the case and to name the government department where he would like to work. This was never accepted and the Phala Phala case became public knowledge. This was put to a parliament vote who voted in favor to not impeach Ramaphosa and was more about protecting their own being ANC.
Recently the Constitutional Court ruled that parliament had overstepped their mark and that the vote was unconstitutional. This vote has to go back to parliament with the law as the focus and not the political party.
If I am honest i am 50/50 on this if this will actually happen as South Africa is known for having enquiries which is not to get to the bottom or the truth, but more to delay what they already know. If they seem to be discussing the issues people think things are being actioned when in reality it is more about kicking it down the road. The Constitutional Court forcing this back to parliament may result in an impeachment as this was not part of their plan. With Ramaphosa not resigning just yet tells us that he thinks he still has a chance and he is probably correct to think like this. When you know everyone is corrupt then the chances of getting the right result is a 50/50 because this will go down to a vote.