A special panel probing a burglary scandal engulfing South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said it found enough evidence to warrant a parliamentary debate on whether he should be removed from office.
“In light of all the information placed before the panel, we conclude that this information discloses… that the president may have committed” serious violations and misconduct, the panel wrote in its report published on Wednesday.
Parliament will examine the findings in a one-day sitting on December 6 when it will decide whether to push ahead with a vote to impeach the president.
Reacting to the report, Ramaphosa reiterated his denial of any wrongdoing.
“The conclusions of the panel require careful reading and appropriate consideration in the interest of the stability of government and that of the country,” the presidency said in a statement.
The panel was set up in September to probe the alleged cover-up of a theft at Ramaphosa’s farmhouse — a scandal that has tarnished the president’s reputation and overshadowed his bid for re-election to the helm of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party.
The report’s filing comes only two weeks before the ANC, which has been in power since the end of apartheid, and is now deeply factionalised, convenes to elect new leadership.
