President Cyril Ramaphosa wins his court bid to seal off campaign records

Dennis TAugust 15, 2019

52 1 minute read

The judge has ruled in favour of Cyril Ramaphosa in his bid to have documents relating to his CR17 sealed. The documents included the names of his donors, among other information – A spokesperson for Busisiwe Mkhwebane says that the Public Protector will not be opposing the ruling

Cyril Ramaphosa’a attempt to have the banking details of his CR17 donors sealed has been successful. The president had filed an application with the North Gauteng High Court. A spokesperson for Busisiwe Mkhwebane also confirmed the ruling.

Ramaphosa had gone to court to have the documents sealed, arguing that the Public Protector had obtained them unlawfully, Briefly.co.za has gathered. The documents contain the names and details of several individuals who donated to Ramaphosa’s campaign for the ANC leadership. The president’s lawyers also argued that the documents contained confidential information and as a result should be kept secret, according to IOL. Reportedly, the judge’s decision on the matter was based on the argument that the documents were obtained illegally. In response to the ruling, Mkhwebane’s spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe, said that Ramaphosa was merely trying to protect his donors.

Nevertheless, Segalwe said that Mkhwebane would not be opposing the judgement. However, this may only be a partial victory for Ramaphosa, as some of the names of those suspected of donating to his campaign are already publicly known.

Indeed, a report was published over the weekend which leaked several names of Ramaphosa’s alleged donors. The list included billionaire Nicky Oppenheimer, former ABSA CEO Maria Ramos and Wits University vice-chancellor Adam Habib, among others. The names provided fuel for some of Ramaphosa’s critics. The EFF, for example, claimed in a public statement that the list of donors was proof that the president was working on behalf of “the interests of white monopoly capital”.

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