'Pay your own Bosasa legal fees‚ Mr President': DA's Mmusi Maimane

DA leader Mmusi Maimane and President Cyril Ramaphosa.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane and President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Image: Mike Hutchings/AFP/Getty Images

DA leader Mmusi Maimane wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to pay his own legal fees should he decide to challenge the yet-to-be-released public protector report on Bosasa.

Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is expected to release details of a probe into a R500‚000 donation paid towards Ramaphosa's campaign for his ANC presidential bid in 2017.

Weekend reports suggested that Ramaphosa was already anticipating challenging Mkhwebane's report.

"The president has every right to do so. However‚ South Africans cannot be expected to pay the legal bill for the president to defend himself against allegations of corruption‚ abuse of power‚ and money laundering.

"We contend that Ramaphosa would be required by law to pay for such legal action from his own pocket as he would be litigating in his personal capacity‚" Maimane said in a statement.

Maimane is the main complainant in the matter‚ after he initially asked Ramaphosa about the donation during a question-and-answer session.

"I have today approached President Ramaphosa in writing‚ requesting an undertaking that he will not use any public money to fund his legal action.

"In particular‚ the president must reassure South Africans that he does not intend to use the services of the state attorney or cause the state attorney to pay legal practitioners on his behalf relating to this matter‚" said Maimane.

In his letter to Ramaphosa‚ Maimane said if the facts around the donation were correct‚ the money would have been donated to him in his private capacity and not as deputy president of the country‚ a position he occupied at the time.

"SA is fast running out of money. We cannot afford to hand millions of rands to the president to fight his personal legal battles‚" added Maimane.

- TMG Digital