Acting public protector clears Ramaphosa in leaked audio saga

Exactly nine months after President Cyril Ramaphosa found himself in hot water over an explosive audio recording, the Office of the Public Protector has cleared him in its investigation into the saga.

Acting Public Protector, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka revealed on Friday, 30 September 2022, that Ramaphosa did not violate any provisions in the executive code of ethics when he said he knew that public funds were used for certain political campaigns within the ANC.

“Evidence obtained indicates that prior to the president making these utterances, it was widely reported, even in the Zondo commission, on the misuse of public funds for the ruling party’s political gains. There is no evidence upon which the PPSA can find that the president contravened any provisions of the code,” Gcaleka said.

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LEAKED AUDIO INVESTIGATION INTO RAMAPHOSA IS CLOSED

In December 2021, ANC MP Mervyn Dirks reported President Cyril Ramaphosa to the Public Protector, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, over the leaked audio recording.

In the clip, first obtained by Daily News, Ramaphosa seemingly admits to knowing about public funds being used for the ANC’s leadership campaigns and can be heard saying he would rather fall on his sword over donations to his 2017 campaign for the ANC presidency – than have the public find out about the former.

Dirks even wrote to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), requesting that Ramaphosa be investigated, in light of what he says in the recording. It was at then decided that the president would be asked to give his side of the story. When SCOPA met in January, it wrote to Ramaphosa, asking him to give a written response to questions posed to him, pertaining to the scandal.

ALSO READ: JUST IN: Scopa to request Ramaphosa’s written submission over alleged comments in leaked audio