President Cyril Ramaphosa believes that private CR17 campaign emails were “stolen.”
Ramaphosa makes the claim in an affidavit on his review of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s report on the R500,000 donation by Bosasa ex-CEO Gavin Watson to his campaign.
The president has therefore called on Mkhwebane to explain how she got these emails.
It is my belief that these emails were stolen from the CR17 campaign computers. I call on the PP to explain how and from whom she received these emails.
President Cyril Ramaphosa
‘Improper or gratuitous reasons’
Ramaphosa further believes Mkhwebane included CR17 bank account information in her investigation “for improper or gratuitous reasons.”
This is because Mkhwebane made no findings about the information in her report, he argues.
Therefore, the inclusion of this bank account information was not “relevant” to the Bosasa investigation, he adds.
Mkhwebane obtained the information from a Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) report.
According to Ramaphosa, not a single finding in Mkhwebane’s report against him was supported by the evidence.
He also slams the Public Protector for allegedly not allowing his lawyers to question the late Gavin Watson.
This is despite Watson indicating that he was willing to have an interview, Ramaphosa contends.
Review
Ramaphosa has taken Mkhwebane’s report on review, arguing that it is “legally and factually flawed.”
Mkhwebane made several damning findings against the president, including that he “deliberately and/or inadvertently misled” Parliament.
She also found that Ramaphosa had exposed himself to a risk of conflict of interest by accepting campaign donations in his name.
The Public Protector said Ramaphosa’s failure to declare the donations was a breach of the executive code of ethics.
She further found suspicion of money laundering and directed the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to investigate further.
She also suggested that the large amounts donated to CR17 campaign created a “risk of capture.”