South Africa’s president launches legal fight to overturn damaging $4 million Farmgate scandal

South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has officially pushed back against a $4 million theft scandal dubbed Farmgate.

• President Cyril Ramaphosa is challenging a report linking him to a $4 million theft scandal known as Farmgate.
• Ramaphosa claims the allegations are based on rumors and has filed a legal challenge to set them aside.
• The Farmgate controversy centers on money reportedly stolen from his Phala Phala property in 2020, but he states the amount was $580,000 from buffalo sales, not $4 million.
• Despite denying all criminal activity and never being charged, a parliamentary commission found evidence of possible constitutional violations, prompting impeachment considerations.

A recent report shows the South African president has filed a legal challenge against a panel ​report that ties him to the allegations, and by extension calls for his resignation.

According to eNCA, citing ​papers filed in court, Ramaphosa insists that the allegations are based on rumors and should be set aside, Reuters reports.

The scandal, Farmgate, stems from suspicions that approximately $4 million was stashed at Ramaphosa's privately owned Phala Phala game property before being stolen during a 2020 break-in.

The allegations, first made by a former intelligence official, sparked enormous outrage and fierce political debate in South Africa.

The South African president previously confirmed that a heist had occurred on the property, but rejected reports regarding the amount taken.

According to the president, the money came from the sale of buffalo and totaled around $580,000, not the millions claimed by adversaries.

He has consistently denied all criminal activities and has never faced formal charges.

Despite this, an independent parliamentary commission determined that there was evidence that the president may have violated constitutional requirements, allowing MPs to consider impeachment procedures.

In a landmark verdict announced earlier in May, South Africa's Constitutional Court concluded that parliament acted improperly when it voted in late 2022 to block further action on the panel's findings.

A couple of weeks back, Cyril Ramaphosa ruled out stepping down after the Constitutional Court of South Africa reopened investigations.

In a televised address, the South African president stated that he will contest the report, condemning the handling of the situation, claiming that it included fundamental faults and did not support calls for his resignation.

“I will not resign,” he said.

“To do so would be to give credence to a panel report that unfortunately has grave flaws,” he added.