South Africa’s top court cleared President Cyril Ramaphosa of lying to parliament about a donation to his 2017 election campaign, quashing a critical report by the country’s ombudswoman.
Known in South Africa as the public protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane in 2019 determined that Ramaphosa had deliberately misled the National Assembly in his answer to a question posed by an opposition lawmaker the previous year.
She also says there was evidence of money laundering, conflict of interest and personal enrichment — prompting the president to challenge the legality of her report.
The High Court dismissed the report last year and the Constitutional Court upheld that decision.
Justice Chris Jafta says the Public Protector was wrong on the facts and on the law with regard to the issue that the president had wilfully misled parliament.
Jafta also says there was no evidence to support money-laundering allegations or to show the president had personally benefitted from campaign donations.
He added that investigations into the “private affairs of political parties” were outside Mkhwebane’s jurisdiction.
The allegations date back to November 2018, when the then leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance party, Mmusi Maimane, asked Ramaphosa to clarify a 500,000 rand ($35,000) payment to his son from the head of a South African company named African Global Operations (AGO).
Ramaphosa explained his son, Andile Ramaphosa, had carried out paid work for the company.
