Africa-Press – Namibia. SHELLEYGAN PETERSEN and DONALD MATTHYS
SOUTH African opposition leader Julius Malema is gunning for both South African president Cyril Ramaphosa and Namibian head of state Hage Geingob as the fallout from the so-called ‘farmgate’ saga continues.
“Ramaphosa unleashed his personal thugs to track down suspects in Namibia after the robbery on his farm with the aid of the Namibian president,” Malema, who is the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), said during a press conference in South Africa yesterday.
This comes after a case was opened against Ramaphosa in connection with kidnapping and bribery, while it is claimed that Geingob aided him in this.
This accusation is made by former South African spy boss and prisons head Arthur Fraser, who accused the two presidents of a high-level cover-up in concealing the theft, which is believed to have been committed by a gang of Namibians living in South Africa.
Fraser alleged that criminals, mostly Namibians, broke into Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm in the Limpopo province in February 2020 to steal more than US$4 million (around N$60 million) hidden in furniture.
“The president of Namibia conspired with Ramaphosa to abduct individuals from his country, and aided him in concealing his crimes of money laundering,” Malema said, while threatening to lay a criminal charge against Geingob as well.
Geingob on Monday denied these claims, saying he does not know how he did Ramaphosa the alleged favour.
“People were here. Somebody came here illegally and was arrested and was later charged, and he paid and went back to South Africa. So I do not know what favour I would have done anybody,” he said.
Geingob said if he was involved the evidence should be brought forth in court.
Malema said the Namibian Economic Freedom Fighters (NEFF) will take on Geingob, holding him accountable.
“I am told that very soon they will be opening a criminal case against the president of Namibia for violating Namibian laws,” he said.
NEFF parliamentarian Kalimbo Iipumbu yesterday said they have given the president an opportunity “to come out clean if not involved in this syndicate”.
“If so, a case will be opened against him,” he said.
A sitting president, however, has immunity, according to the Constitution.
Presidential spokesperson Alfredo Hengari could yesterday not be reached for comment.
QUESTIONS TO GEINGOB
Meanwhile, the speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Peter Katjavivi, yesterday refused to discuss the matter in the NA.
Iipumbu posed a series of questions to prime minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila on why the majority of Namibians should continue to trust Geingob, who appears in every major corruption scandal of international proportion.
He asked what stopped the parliament from expressing a vote of no confidence in the president so that he could be impeached.
“Should this not be the time that our president took a sabbatical leave from office to allow for a full-scale investigation by unbiased investigators so that parliament can consider what the next course of action is to take in this regard?” Iipumbu asked.
The parliamentarian wants Geingob to prove he is innocent.
“… to convince the many ordinary Namibians who have been subjected to the embarrassing flouting of our laws and violation of territorial integrity by South African spies and their president,” he said.
He further asked why police chief inspector general Sebastian Ndeitunga, the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Financial Intelligence Centre had not been tasked to investigate the footprints of the stolen money in local banks.
“I rule the question out of order, I am done with you,” Katjavivi told Iipumbu before giving the floor to another speaker.
The speaker rejected the questions based on Rule 88 (b) of the NA’s standing rules and orders.
It states: “A question shall not include the names of persons, or any statement of fact, unless they are necessary to render the question intelligible and can be authenticated.”
Kuugongelwa-Amadhila did not respond to Iipumbu.
STEP ASIDE OR ELSE
The EFF has called for Ramaphosa to step aside with immediate effect.
“… because no policeman will investigate a sitting president who has violated laws in order to avoid justice.
“The EFF has also assembled a legal team, which will be led by advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, to look into constitutional provisions to have Ramaphosa step aside,” Malema said.
He said if Ramaphosa refused to step aside to allow for “transparent” investigations, the EFF would mobilise many sectors of society to stop recognising him as a president of the republic.
“[We] will not permit him to perform any presidential functions,” he said.
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