President Cyril Ramaphosa’s legal team has told the High Court in Pretoria that Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane did not have the jurisdiction to probe his Foundation Trust.
Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi has argued that Mkhwebane omitted certain aspects in her probe by not taking note that other African National Congress (ANC) members also used the same foundation trust to receive campaign donations.
Ngcukaitobi has dismissed the notion that Ramaphosa personally benefited from the donations. He says Mkhwebane did not articulate the fact that Ramaphosa personally donated more than R32 million to the party’s 2017 election campaign.
The High Court in Pretoria is hearing arguments into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s application for a judicial review of the Public Protector’s report on the CR17 Bosasa donation.
The late Bosasa Chief Executive Officer Gavin Watson donated R500 000 to Ramaphosa’s 2017 campaign.
Mkhwebane concluded that there was merit to allegations of money laundering and Ramaphosa’s violation of the executive code of ethics and possible exposure to conflict of interest in receiving certain donations.
Ngcukaithobi has argued that Mkhwebane ignored to outline that the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation Trust is not a family entity.
