ActionSA has formally approached the Public Protector, calling for the reopening of the Phala Phala investigation following new revelations contained in the recently unsealed report by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).

On Thursday, ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said the initial investigation was too narrow and failed to fully interrogate the potential involvement of officials within the Presidency in what the party describes as a possible cover up of the 2020 robbery at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Limpopo farm.

The Phala Phala scandal centres on the theft of large sums of foreign currency allegedly concealed at the President’s game farm, and the subsequent handling of the matter by members of the Presidential Protection Unit.

Beaumont said the newly released IPID findings significantly broaden the scope of concern, particularly pointing to the involvement of senior officials close to the President. Among those named is Bejani Chauke, who serves as the President’s Envoy for Africa and previously acted as a special adviser.

According to ActionSA, the IPID report shows that Chauke travelled to Namibia alongside members of the Presidential Protection Unit using South African Police Service VIP resources, despite not being authorised to do so. The trip, described at the time as a national security matter, coincided with the arrest of a key suspect linked to the Phala Phala robbery.

ActionSA argues that such a cross border operation would have required high level authorisation, raising questions about whether instructions originated from within the Presidency itself. Beaumont said this suggests a coordinated effort to conceal aspects of the robbery rather than a routine law enforcement response.

“The findings relating to Chauke open a new avenue that directly implicates the President’s office,” Beaumont said, adding that officials within the Presidency have clear reporting lines and cannot deflect accountability in the same way as members of the Presidential Protection Unit.

The party has urged the Public Protector to expand the investigation to include all officials with proximity to the President and to determine whether state resources were unlawfully used.

The call follows a prolonged legal and administrative battle by ActionSA to compel IPID to release its report. The party said it had filed multiple applications under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, pursued appeals, and written to the acting Minister of Police before the report was finally made public.

In Parliament, ActionSA has also announced further steps, including pushing for a joint inquiry by portfolio committees overseeing the Presidency and Police. The party intends to submit parliamentary questions to both the President and the Minister of Police, seeking explanations for the failure to act on IPID’s recommendations made as far back as October 2023.

The renewed push adds to mounting political pressure that has intensified since the IPID report became public last week.

The African Transformation Movement (ATM) strongly criticised the developments, warning of what it described as a “dangerous erosion of accountability” and alleging that state institutions were being used to shield those in power. The party called for a full, independent inquiry into the matter.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) echoed similar concerns, demanding that Ramaphosa be held accountable and reiterating its long standing position that the Phala Phala matter represents a serious breach of the Constitution. The party said the IPID findings reinforce claims that law enforcement structures may have been manipulated to protect the President.

Civil society organisations also weighed in, with several groups calling for transparency and warning that failure to act on the report’s findings could undermine public trust in oversight institutions. Advocacy bodies emphasised the need for the Public Protector to act decisively in light of the new evidence.

Despite the growing calls, the Presidency has previously maintained that the President did not act unlawfully and has defended the handling of the matter.

ActionSA, however, insists that the latest revelations cannot be ignored. Beaumont said an expanded investigation by the Public Protector is now essential to determine the full extent of any wrongdoing and to restore confidence in the country’s accountability mechanisms.

With multiple political parties and civil society groups now demanding answers, the Phala Phala saga appears set to re-enter the national spotlight, placing renewed scrutiny on the Presidency and the institutions tasked with holding it to account.

The Public Protector had not yet responded at the time of print.