ActionSA National Chairperson Michael Beaumont says SAPS wrongly rejected its PAIA request for Phala Phala case records and has escalated the matter internally, with plans to approach the Information Regulator.
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ActionSA has launched an internal appeal after the South African Police Service (SAPS) rejected its PAIA request for access to documents linked to the Phala Phala farm robbery investigation, including President Cyril Ramaphosa's affidavit and related prosecutorial records.
The party said the refusal relates to its application under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), which sought access to key documentation used in the investigation and prosecution of suspects in the case.
ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said the request included the President’s affidavit, which he said was deposed as part of the investigation into the robbery at the President’s farm, and allegedly records the amount of cash stolen.
He said the application also sought access to a National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) cashflow analysis, which he claimed reflects approximately R15 million in financial transactions linked to one of the accused after the robbery.
Beaumont said SAPS rejected the request on the basis of legal provisions he argued were incorrectly applied to exclude documents requested under PAIA.
“The SAPS have cited incorrect provisions in law which exclude documentation requested for criminal or civil proceedings from being provided to requesters in a PAIA application,” Beaumont said.
He added that ActionSA maintains it did not request the information for criminal or civil proceedings and questioned SAPS’s interpretation of the application.
Beaumont confirmed that ActionSA has filed an internal appeal with SAPS and will escalate the matter to the Information Regulator if the appeal is unsuccessful.
He further raised concerns about transparency in the handling of the Phala Phala matter, alleging contradictions in the available evidence.
“The fact that the NPA has, as part of its prosecution of the accused robbers, produced an analysis that directly contradicts the President’s version on the amount of funds stolen, shows that the President committed a crime and violated his oath of office,” Beaumont said.
He added that it is an offence under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act to under-declare serious financial crimes, and alleged that deliberately providing false information to SAPS could amount to fraud and perjury.
ActionSA also referred to parliamentary oral questions directed at the security cluster, saying Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale, representing Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia, did not commit to releasing the PAIA documents.
Beaumont said Mathale instead provided what the party described as a generic response when asked about the request.
“ActionSA posed him a question of whether he would commit to providing the information requested in our PAIA application, and he simply re-read the same generic answer he gave to a different and unrelated question,” Beaumont said. “This is how seriously the GNU takes this matter.”
Beaumont said the party would continue pursuing access to the documents.
“ActionSA will continue to pursue this information until it is in our possession and available to the South African people,” he said.
He added that the President must account for all aspects of the Phala Phala matter, and alleged that efforts to withhold information must be exposed and challenged.
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa has taken the Phala Phala independent panel report on judicial review at the Western Cape High Court, arguing that its findings are flawed and should be set aside.
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