Leaked Phala Phala report, consequences for president and predicament for retired arms deal judges

Loading player...
This week on the Politics Weekly we reflect on the public protector’s leaked preliminary report, which seems to have exonerated President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal. We also look at public accountability of our judges, and why it seems to take so long to bring them to book when they stray.
Joining us for this episode of the Politics Weekly is Franny Rabkin (Sunday Times legal correspondent) and Dr Fikile Vilakazi (who teaches politics at the University of the Western Cape).
The long-awaited public protector Kholeka Gcaleka’s report on Phala Phala has largely cleared president Ramaphosa, while heaping most of the blame for the debacle on his head of protection services, Maj-Gen Wally Rhoode. The panel discuss the report and other agencies inquiring on the Farmgate saga.
Rabkin enlightens us on the legal aspects of the report and others inquiring about the robbery at president’s farm, while Vilakazi gives a political assessment.
The discussion concludes with the panel inspecting retired arms deal inquiry judges Willie Seriti and Hendricks Musi’s predicament as they challenge the constitutionality of the Judicial Service Act.
Producer: Bulelani Nonyukela.
16 Mar 2023 English South Africa Politics · News Commentary

Other recent episodes

The cost of protest in South Africa

Protesting in South Africa comes at a price, sometimes a deadly one. From Sharpeville to today’s crackdowns, the state’s response to dissent has often been force, not dialogue. As the country marks Human Rights Day, the question remains: Why does standing up for basic rights still come with heavy consequences?…
20 Mar 27 min

How the ANC in Gauteng will be fixed

The Sunday Times’ Lizeka Tandwa spoke to Gauteng PTT coordinator Hope Papo about how they intend to turn around the party’s fortunes. 
8 Mar 1 hr 11 min

Dlamini-Zuma shoots down GNU, turns on MK Party

ANC heavyweight Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has expressed her disapproval of the government of national unity (GNU), saying that if it had been up to her, the ANC would not have formed a government with the DA.
30 Nov 2024 1 hr 22 min

'I will take back my ANC to honour our ancestors' — Jacob Zuma

ormer president Jacob Zuma has laid out details of an audacious plan to “take back my ANC', by uniting “black” parties under his MK party banner and recapturing the leadership of the party, which he said had “deviated from our ancestors”. He spoke to Sunday Times politics editor Sibongakonke Shoba…
23 Nov 2024 49 min

Khama wants probe into public finances after Masisi’s ousting

Former Botswana leader Ian Khama has called on the country’s new president, Duma Boko, to launch an investigation into the ousted Mokgweetsi Masisi’s use of government finances during his period in power. Khama says he feels responsible for the 'dictatorship' that ensued after Masisi took power. The former president was in…
9 Nov 2024 20 min