President Cyril Ramaphosa has launched a legal bid in the Western Cape High Court to have the Section 89 Independent Panel report into the Phala Phala saga reviewed and set aside, arguing that the panel “misconceived its mandate” and relied on speculation rather than evidence.

In court papers filed in Cape Town, Ramaphosa says the panel’s findings and recommendations are “irrational and contrary to the principle of legality”.

“The Panel rendered its report and made its recommendation in the exercise of public power. They are thus reviewable under the constitutional principle of legality,” Ramaphosa states in his affidavit.

He argues that the panel “misconceived its mandate, misjudged the information placed before it and misinterpreted the four charges advanced against me”, adding that it “strayed beyond the four charges and considered matters not properly before it”.

The president says he first approached the Constitutional Court in December 2022 to challenge the report, shortly after it was released. However, he says the matter became moot after the National Assembly voted against proceeding with an impeachment inquiry on 13 December 2022.

Ramaphosa says the matter only became live again after the Constitutional Court ruled earlier this month that the National Assembly rule governing the process was unconstitutional and referred the report back to Parliament’s impeachment committee.

A central plank of Ramaphosa’s argument is that the panel failed to distinguish between “evidence” and “information”.

“The Panel determined that there was no difference between ‘evidence’ and ‘information’,” he states, arguing that the panel then relied on untested allegations and speculative material instead of admissible evidence.

He says the panel “failed to undertake the enquiry to determine whether there was evidence to support the charges and whether such evidence was sufficient”.

The president also takes aim at former State Security Agency director-general Arthur Fraser’s allegations, describing them as “speculation, fiction and conjecture”.

“Mr Fraser’s allegations are just that: allegations, which are based on speculation, fiction and conjecture. They are not evidence,” Ramaphosa argues.

He further claims the panel ignored sworn statements that contradicted Fraser’s version and instead accepted what he describes as improbable allegations involving “a fictitious drug smuggling claim” and clandestine meetings.

Ramaphosa also disputes the panel’s finding that he violated the Constitution by engaging in “other paid work” through his ownership of the Phala Phala game farm.

“The prohibition states that a member of Cabinet may not ‘undertake any other paid work’. Its language is plain. A member of Cabinet may not do other work for which he or she is paid. I did not do any other work and I was certainly not paid for anything of the kind,” he states.

The president further accuses the panel of venturing beyond the charges before it by questioning the conduct of Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa and the cash transaction linked to the buffalo sale at Phala Phala.

“Once again, this has nothing to do with any of the charges in the motion,” the affidavit reads.

Ramaphosa says the panel itself acknowledged “a paucity of information” but nonetheless resorted to “suspicion and speculation”.

In his concluding remarks, Ramaphosa warns that it would be “a travesty” for Parliament to proceed with impeachment proceedings while the legality of the panel’s report remains under judicial challenge.

“It would be intolerable and a travesty if the National Assembly were to proceed with an impeachment process triggered by the Panel’s report, at a time when a challenge to the lawfulness and validity of that report is pending,” he states.

He says he will seek an urgent interdict if Parliament continues with the impeachment process before the court challenge is resolved.

“I do not make this application lightly,” Ramaphosa says. “I have carefully considered the report and respectfully submit that the process followed by the Panel and its conclusions are seriously flawed.”