Polity.org.za Audio Articles

Israel told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday that it cannot rule on South Africa's request for emergency measures in Gaza in part because SA was on holiday immediately after Christmas.

The World Court, as the ICJ is known, deals with disputes between states. South Africa says there is a clear dispute between it and Israel about SA's allegations of genocide in Gaza: South Africa believes Israel is guilty of genocide, and Israel disagrees.

But South Africa never gave Israel the opportunity to talk about that disagreement, Israel's lawyer Malcolm Shaw told the ICJ. Having failed to try to resolve the issue on a bilateral level before going to court, Shaw argued that SA had failed to show the existence of a dispute over which the court has jurisdiction.

South Africa said the existence of a dispute was already clear enough, through its public statements and referral of Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Nonetheless, SA said, "as a matter of courtesy, before filing" its ICJ case, it sent a note verbale to the Israeli embassy on 21 December.

South Africa said Israel had responded by its own note in a fashion "that failed to address the issues raised by South Africa". That response, SA told the ICJ, was emailed "late" on 27 December, and "received by the relevant South African team on 29 December 2023" - only after SA had filed its application with the ICJ.

But SA left out some critical details, Shaw told the court in reply.

Israel responded to South Africa on 21 December, Shaw said, albeit only to let South Africa know it had referred SA's note to its capital.

On Boxing Day, 26 December, came a more substantive reply. Israel's foreign affairs directory-general asked his SA counterpart "by text to schedule a meeting at his earliest convenience". That was followed by a formal note from the Israeli embassy on 27 December, said Shaw, which SA refused to accept by hand delivery because of the holidays.

South Africa, said Shaw, told Israel to instead deliver its note on 2 January. It then filed its ICJ application on 28 December.

This, said Shaw, showed SA rejected an "attempt by the state of Israel to open a discussion" in good faith that could have settled the matter before SA went to court.

"South Africa did not give Israel a reasonable opportunity to engage with it on the matters under consideration before filing its no-doubt long-prepared application," said Shaw.

A group claiming to be members of the MK Military Veterans Association (MKMVA) pledged their support to Jacob Zuma's MK Party.

However, African National Congress (ANC) Veterans' League (ANCVL) president Snuki Zikalala said any former ANC war combatants joining the MK Party were doing so in their own capacity because the MKMVA no longer existed.

Though the group had yet to join the MK Party officially, its members pledged support for the new party after Zuma ally and former finance minister Des van Rooyen, who acts as MKMVA's treasurer, gave them the green light.

The former war combatants told News24 that, after being neglected by the ANC and its leaders, joining the MK Party was "a no-brainer".

But Zikalala told News24 the ANCVL was not worried, saying:

The MKMVA does not exist. If there are people who have joined the MK Party, they have done so in their capacity. We are also not concerned about any members who have joined the MK Party because it has no policies and no leadership.

Zikalala said the new party was doomed to fail because "Zuma had also failed as president of the country".

The MKMVA members, who were part of the ANC's military wing, told News24 it had become clear the ANC and its leaders, particularly President Cyril Ramaphosa, were not interested in the former combatants.

The ANC moved to disband the MKMVA in 2018.

A parallel structure, which called itself the MKMVA Council, was then formed.

However, at a chaotic conference in East London in 2022, both structures were disbanded and a third organisation, the uMkhonto weSizwe Liberation War Veterans (MKLWV), was established.

This after a group, reportedly 15 out of about 400 delegates, staged a walkout.

According to reports, the conference deadlocked during a debate around the association's right to vote at ANC conferences.

Meanwhile, Van Rooyen leads an interim MKMVA structure.

Attempts to reach Van Rooyen, who is mandated to speak on behalf of the MKMVA, were unsuccessful.

MKMVA acting general-secretary Masechaba Motloung declined to comment but said the MKMVA had decided any member wishing to join the new MK Party was free to do so.

One MKMVA commander, Mafika Mthethwa, of the Gert Sibande region in Mkhondo, Mpumalanga, said the decision to join the MK Party came after months of deliberation and discussion.

"We realised that the current leadership of the ANC doesn't want us anymore; after thinking about this, we decided that contesting the election is not a bad idea.

"Also, the people who registered the MK Party are members of the MKMVA," Mthethwa added.

He said the ANC had ignored and neglected them and failed to consult them on issues.

"The ANC doesn't care about the MK soldiers, they ignore the MKMVA everywhere, and they don't recognise us.

"That is why we decided that, no, these people don't want us.

"The secretary-general [Fikile Mbalula] doesn't want us, and the secretary is the main person who doesn't want us.

"They have grudges because the MKMVA did not support some of them at the Nasrec conference," Mthethwa said.

Meanwhile, the MK Party added it welcomed MKMVA members who wished to join it.

Global movement Amnesty International South Africa noted that the International Court of Justice's (ICJ's) examination of Israel's conduct is a vital step for the protection of Palestinian lives, to restore trust and credibility in the universal application of international law, and to pave the way for justice and reparation for victims.

Last month South Africa lodged its case against Israel in the ICJ, alleging that Israel's acts and failure to act in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, in the wake of the attacks on October 7 by Hamas and other armed groups, are genocidal in character.

South Africa's application urges the court to order "provisional measures" to protect the Palestinian people in Gaza, including by calling on Israel to immediately stop military attacks that "constitute or give rise to violations of the Genocide Convention" and to rescind related measures amounting to collective punishment and forced displacement.

The Initial hearings will take place at the ICJ in The Hague on Thursday and Friday.

Justice Minister Ronald Lamola will lead South Africa's delegation to the peace palace in The Hague.

The South African delegation will include director-general in the Presidency Phindile Baleni, Department of International Relations and Cooperation director-general Zane Dangor and Department of Justice and Constitutional Development director-general Doc Mashabane.

Amnesty International said the ICJ proceedings on South Africa's legal case that alleges that the State of Israel is breaching its obligations under the United Nations Genocide Convention, could help protect Palestinian civilians, end the man-made humanitarian catastrophe in the occupied Gaza Strip and offer hope for international justice.

Amnesty International said that it had not made a determination that the situation in Gaza amounted to genocide.

"However, there are alarming warning signs given the staggering scale of death and destruction with more than 23 000 Palestinians killed in just over three months and a further 10 000 missing under the rubble, presumed dead, as well as an appalling spike in dehumanising and racist rhetoric against Palestinians by certain Israeli government and military officials," it explained.

It added that this, coupled with Israel's imposition of an illegal siege in Gaza, which had cut off or severely restricted the civilian population's access to water, food, medical assistance and fuel, was inflicting unfathomable levels of suffering and put the survival of those within Gaza at risk.

Amnesty International secretary general Agnès Callamard said that there was no end in sight to the mass human suffering, devastation and destruction being witnessed on an hourly basis in Gaza.

"The risk that Gaza would be transformed from the world's biggest open-air prison to a giant graveyard has, crushingly, materialised right before our eyes," said Callamard.

"As the United States continues to use its veto power to block the UN Security Council from calling for a ceasefire, war crimes and crimes against humanity are rife, and the risk of genocide is real. States have a positive obligation to prevent and punish genocide and other atrocity crimes."

Callamard explained that pending a final ruling of the ICJ on whether the crimes of genocide and other crimes under international law had been committed, an urgent order to implement provisional measures would be important to help prevent further death, destruction and civilian suffering and provide a warning to other States that they must not contribute to grave violations and crimes against Palestinians.

MORE PRESSURE

Political party GOOD secretary-general and MP Brett Herron said that pausing the genocide would create an opportunity for the world's nations to engage in brokering sustainable peace and justice.

"Of course, if the South African application is successful, and the court makes the requested order, Israel could choose to ignore it. This will, once again, show up the court's - and by e...

South Africa accused Israel on Thursday of subjecting Palestinians to genocidal acts at the opening of hearings at the top United Nations court on a case brought against the devastating Israeli military campaign in Gaza.

In hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, South Africa demanded an emergency suspension of Israel's aerial and ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave, which it said was aimed at bringing about "the destruction of the population" of Gaza.

"Israel has a genocidal intent against the Palestinians in Gaza," Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, advocate of the High Court of South Africa, told the court.

"That is evident from the way in which this military attack is being conducted," he said, adding: "The intent to destroy Gaza has been nurtured at the highest level of state."

Israel has rejected the accusations of genocide as baseless and accused Pretoria of playing "advocate of the devil" for Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist militant group Israel is waging war against in Gaza.

The 1948 Genocide Convention defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".

South Africa points to Israel's sustained bombing campaign that has killed over 23 000 people in the small, densely populated Gaza Strip, according to health authorities in the Hamas-rum territory.

"Every day, there is mounting, irreparable loss of life, property, dignity, and humanity for the Palestinian people," said Adila Hassim, advocate of South Africa's high court.

"Nothing will stop the suffering, except an order from this court." South Africa has demanded that the ICJ order Israel to suspend its military campaign.

Israel launched all-out war after a cross-border rampage on October 7 by Hamas militants in which Israeli officials said 1 200 people were killed and 240 taken hostage back to Gaza.

Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said South Africa condemned Hamas' October 7 assault, but added that any attack, even one involving atrocious crimes, was not a justification for violations of the Genocide Convention.

Post-apartheid South Africa has long defended the Palestinian cause, a relationship forged when the African National Congress' struggle against white-minority rule was cheered on by Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organisation.

EMERGENCY RULING

The ICJ is hearing South Africa's arguments on Thursday and Israel's response to the allegations on Friday.

It is expected to rule on possible emergency measures later this month. The court will not rule at that time on the genocide allegations - those proceedings could take years.

The ICJ's decisions are final and without appeal - but the court has no way to enforce them.

With the politically charged case attracting global attention, supporters of both sides of the case planned marches and rallies in The Hague.

Thousands of pro-Israel protesters marched in freezing temperatures in the city centre early on Thursday, carrying Israeli and Dutch flags and posters with images of people taken hostage by Hamas.

Heavy police presence made sure the pro-Israel march and a pro-Palestinian march, with red-and-green coloured smoke symbolising the Palestinian flag, were kept separate.

Gabi Patlis, a native of Tel Aviv who now lives in the Netherlands, said it was painful to hear Israel accused of genocide. "Especially after 7 October - we were the ones that were attacked," he told Reuters at the rally.

ISRAEL SAYS ALLEGATIONS BASELESS

Israeli forces launched their offensive after Hamas fighters carried out a lightning attack across the border in what became the deadliest day in Israel's 75-year history.

Since then, the offensive has laid much of the heavily built-up territory, and nearly all its 2.3-million people have been driven from their homes at least once, causing a humanitarian catastrophe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media platform X: "I want to make a few points absolutel...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has steered clear of the reinvigorated controversy around the R4-million pool at Nkandla, with his spokesperson saying that former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's "Secure in Comfort" report already dealt with the matter.

In a leaked voice note on 9 January, former police minister Nathi Nhleko criticised African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, who recently claimed that the "fire pool" explanation from the then minister was false.

While addressing ANC members on Sunday, Mbalula confirmed what was previously widely understood to be a lie: that the R4-million amenity in former president Jacob Zuma's homestead was in fact a swimming pool - not a fire pool.

But, in the voice note to KwaZulu-Natal politicians following Mbalula's remarks, Nhleko stood by his initial claim that the facility was a fire pool - a water source to fight fires on the estate - and said he reported directly to ANC leaders, including Ramaphosa.

Mbalula's comments followed Zuma's backing of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.

In the wake of Nhleko's recording, the Presidency was approached for Ramaphosa's response to the debacle and to the former minister's statement that Ramaphosa was one of the people he had directly reported to.

In response to News24's questions, Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya cited the Public Protector's report and said "any attempt to draw the president into some form of revision of the matter is an exercise in futility".

He said the March 2014 Public Protector investigation - titled "Secure in Comfort" - "exhaustively dealt with all the issues."

The chief finding in the report was that Zuma had unduly benefitted from state-funded upgrades to his homestead.

Meanwhile, Mbalula went on a public relations offensive on Tuesday evening, seeking to explain himself amid backlash from some quarters of the ANC, including party chairperson, Gwede Mantashe.

"I think I listened very carefully to what [the secretary-general] said. I thought he was carried away by yourselves (the media). He saw your cameras, he got carried away and said things he should not have said," Mantashe said, as a few ANC members chuckled in the background.

"It's an issue that you have to deal with internally... that when you lead, you count every word you say. If you don't, you catch fire."

In one of the TV interviews, as a way of explaining himself, Mbalula used the old Xhosa adage: "IsiXhosa asitolikwa", which loosely means one cannot translate isiXhosa because you may risk being lost in translation.

He also said he had been looking to speak to Mantashe over his comments in the media. In an interview on eNCA, Mbalula was asked about Nhleko's voice note.

He said he understood Nhleko's reaction.

"If I was Nathi Nhleko and someone says that I was on a platform, sweating and explaining a lie and it hits in my skin (sic), I'd react the same," Mbalula said.

"Depending on modesty and what kind of person you are, if you're a cadre of the ANC you'll call the SG and say I didn't expect you to say that. I was not addressing a media conference; I was talking to ANC supporters. And when I talk to ANC members and supporters, I don't sugarcoat issues."

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika on Wednesday, Nhleko said the work undertaken at Zuma's Nkandla homestead at the time related to security features.

He said the determination that the R4-million amenity was a fire pool was made by engineers.

Nhleko mentioned one of the engineers only by surname - Oberholzer - and said he had never met him before.

He added that when he was the police minister in the fifth administration, Parliament had already instructed that a determination be made on security issues, one of which was the fire pool.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) board says it is vindicated by the Labour Court's decision on the termination of former NSFAS CEO Andile Nongogo's contract of employment following his irregular involvement in the appointment of the direct payment service providers.

On Monday the court declared Nongogo's termination as lawful and valid, dismissing his bid for his reinstatement.

The NSFAS board welcomed the decision by the Court to dismiss with costs the application by Nongogo to strike out certain paragraphs as contained in the Werksman Attorney's report, which implicated him in irregular conduct in relation to the appointment of direct payment service providers.

In August, Nongogo was placed on special leave after an uproar over the scheme's direct payment contract.

The NSFAS board viewed the Werksmans Attorneys report as a necessary and important measure to "propel NSFAS to a much more elevated level of consciousness to fight corruption and the capture of NSFAS".

It said the report also served as a measure for NSFAS to further strengthen its own internal supply chain management systems and controls.

Following the judgment, NSFAS noted that it would vigorously continue with its legal process towards the termination of contracts of direct payment service providers.

"The termination of the direct payment service providers will be handled with due care [so as] not to disrupt the disbursement of the allowances to students in the 2024 academic year," said the NSFAS board.

The African National Congress (ANC) has reportedly taken its logo dispute with the newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party to the Electoral Court.

ANC secretary-general (SG) Fikile Mbalula revealed during a live interview with eNCA that he had signed papers on Tuesday.

"MK is our trademark. It is well known in South Africa. It's the people's army, and it belongs to the ANC," he said.

Mbalula added that the ANC challenged the formation of the MK Party in May and won, but later a certificate was awarded to the new organisation without the party's knowledge.

"The technicality about that was that [there] was a gazette, and we didn't respond. We were unaware of that, and once we were aware, we responded. We are challenging that and we are going to the Electoral Court. I signed the papers [on Tuesday]," he added.

Interim MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndlela said: "We have just heard statements that were mentioned by Fikile Mbalula. We will respond accordingly when we receive court papers; until then, it is just hearsay."

The two parties are embroiled in a legal battle over the use of the MK logo. The ANC believes the logo bears similarities to that of its military wing, uMkhonto weSizwe.

In a letter of demand, the ANC submitted that the logo would confuse voters at the polls.

In what appeared to be a desperate attempt to spin his most recent statements on using millions of taxpayers' money for security upgrades to former president Jacob Zuma's homestead in Nkandla, including R4-million on a "fire pool", Mbalula said he was speaking to ANC cadres and would not sugarcoat his message.

Mbalula added that he was not throwing party members under the bus when he said the party had lied to defend Zuma. He was relaying historical facts, he said.

"I was not addressing a media conference. I was speaking to ANC supporters, and when I talk to ANC supporters and members, I don't sugarcoat issues. I say what they know and what is the truth, and that truth is on that day, Nkandla was explained," he added.

Since then, former police minister Nathi Nhleko said his 2014 claim that the R4-million pool was a "fire pool" aimed at securing the home of the president at the time was backed up by facts.

Mbalula said he would engage with Nhleko "quietly as per ANC standards". He added that ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe had broken ANC protocol by speaking out publicly against him.

Mantashe told journalists on Tuesday that Mbalula may have been excited by the press when he commented on the fire pool in Nkandla.

Mbalula said that while Mantashe had yet to answer his phone calls, he would meet with him in Mbombela to discuss the matter.

"I will get him every day. Every day we meet. I am not in a hurry about it.

"I think in his way, he thought he was doing something good for the movement, and in this particular instance, I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Who am I in the ANC? I am just the SG," Mbalula added.

In the ANC's build-up programme on Thursday, party leaders and members embark on poverty alleviation programmes, which includes planting vegetable gardens in the area.

Former police minister Nathi Nhleko has insisted that the justification for the irregular spending of public funds on a swimming pool at former president Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead as a security feature stands, despite African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula admitting to it being a lie.

In a voicenote circulated on Tuesday, Nhleko said his 2014 claim that the R4-million pool was a "fire pool" aimed at securing the home of the then president was backed up by facts.

This despite Mbalula telling supporters in Mpumalanga on Sunday that Nhleko had lied to Parliament in defence of Zuma.

"If I was lying about this [fire pool], he would have to mention who from the then leadership of the ANC - including the then deputy president, who is currently the president [Cyril Ramaphosa] whom I was reporting to regularly on these issues in the context of the political committee, for example - gave me an instruction to lie on behalf of the ANC," Nhleko said in the circulated voicenote.

"If he can't issue the name of that person, then he is in trouble. Where does he get what he is talking about? You will discover there is no such person," he said.

In the 2014 report titled Secure in Comfort, former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela found that Zuma had unduly benefitted from state-funded upgrades to his private home.

But Nhleko, who was police minister at the time, insisted that the swimming pool, amphitheatre and kraal, among other features, were all constructed for the sake of securing Zuma.

Mbalula told ANC die-hards that the party had defended Zuma despite a 2016 damning judgment by the Constitutional Court against him.

"We went to Parliament and opened an ad hoc committee and said a swimming pool is a fire pool. The [then] police minister [Nathi Nhleko] was sweating, seeing that this was a lie, because it is difficult to explain lies. People have lost their careers because of that thing," he said.

In response, Nhleko said his investigative report on Nkandla was backed up by scientific work, including experts in the fields of engineering, security, culture, and construction.

"If he says I was lying, you need to counter me with something that says, 'here is proof that whatever you said was not true'. Up until this point, nobody can do that because nobody has the facts at hand," he said in the five-minute-long recording.

Zuma's efforts to campaign against the ANC and in support of the newly-formed MK Party have overshadowed the ruling party's political campaigning.

In the leaked recording, Nhleko appears to be responding to a person whom he only refers to as "Mgenge", and others he referred to as "comrades", whom sources identified as the leaders of the ANC in the Musa Dladla region of KwaZulu-Natal.

Seemingly referring to how the ANC handles matters, Nhleko said there was no "mature approach" in dealing with issues.

In the voicenote, he appears to refer to the current state of affairs in the ANC's political leadership, and talks about a "situation" that cannot be wished away, "no matter how much muti you have, never!".

Alternating between English and isiZulu, Nhleko lambasted Mbalula.

"I'm convinced now, and I don't like to talk about these things... but all I can say is in the ANC, if we still have a secretary-general like this one, the worst of its kind ever in the 112-year-old liberation movement, we're never going anywhere because you can't speak before you think. It just can't happen that way. In fact, it's a typical behaviour of a beetle moving cow dung around the kraal," he said.

Mbalula said he would not comment on the matter.

The Congress of the People (Cope) is calling for the direct election of South Africa's president, to give credence to the mantra that the people shall govern.

On Tuesday, Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota addressed a press briefing in Johannesburg, where he made it clear that citizens should govern and should be seen to govern.

"We want to amplify once again our call for a constitutional amendment for voters to directly elect the president of our country, instead of using the procedures under the current party list system that promotes party interests above the interests of the people of our land.

"This change should also apply to premiers and mayors. We adopted this position in 2008 and consistently repeated it in all our election manifestos," he said.

Lekota's comments come months ahead of South Africa's seventh democratic elections, which is set to be held between May and August this year.

The Constitution does not allow for the direct election of the head of state.

According to Lekota, retaining the present electoral system will give South Africans more abysmal failures as presidents.

"The national debt has soared, and the debt servicing costs, according to the National Treasury of South Africa, will, as a percentage of the main budget revenue, increase from 18% in 2022/23 to 19.8% in 2025/26 - and is expected to average R366.8-billion a year over the medium-term.

"In other words, R1 out of every R5 collected in taxes must be paid as interest on the debt. With only 80% of revenue left and the massive size of government draining much of what remains, service delivery and infrastructure development will be negatively impacted," he said.

Furthermore, Lekota said public services and several state-owned enterprises had collapsed.

"Over many years, the Auditor-General's reports have been shelved, allowing failure and corruption to continue without consequences. The president has failed to hold ministers accountable for their lack of performance and has lacked the moral courage to disclose their performance outcomes. This violates the values of openness, accountability and responsiveness," he said.

Lekota said the trust deficit between political leaders and ordinary South Africans had reached stratospheric levels.

"According to the 2023 South African Reconciliation Barometer, 79% of South Africans believe that leaders cannot be trusted to do what is right.

"Fikile Mbalula has just admitted how those at the helm of the leadership of our country misled Parliament. SoNA will be just another charade. South Africa would have been better off if a vote of no confidence debate kickstarted the new parliamentary year," he said.

In a lengthy post on X, Mbalula explained his comments.

"Other than members of the opposition and sworn enemies of the ANC, anyone who understood or interpreted the SG's remarks yesterday in Mpumalanga as an admission that the ANC assisted, abetted, aided or attempted to assist, abet or aid the former president in defrauding the government must have his/her head checked. The remarks must also be understood as political rally rhetoric and polemics," he said.

But Lekota was unfazed by the African National Congress's explanation.

He said if a new government was elected in the current electoral system, the paralysis in government would worsen.

"The economy will be damaged even more. Joblessness will increase. Any state-owned entity that has not yet been brought to its knees will be pulled down. Ministers will remain as consumed by political infighting as ever, and incompetence mingled with corruption will continue longer," he said.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) and ActionSA on Tuesday laid criminal charges against Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology Dr Blade Nzimande, for his alleged role in defrauding the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) through kickbacks paid to him, NSFAS board chairperson Ernest Khoza, and the South African Communist Party (SACP).

Last week, non-profit civil rights organisation the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) said it had voice recordings containing "damning allegations about a patronage network in the Department of Higher Education, implicating Nzimande, Khoza, and several others".

The organisation alleged that Nzimande and Khoza were involved in the fraudulent scheme coordinated by corrupt tenderpreneurs to loot NSFAS through irregular contracts.

Outa released voice recordings of two meetings between Khosa and a representative of a service provider, which revealed how service providers allegedly paid millions of rand in kickbacks to Nzimande and Khosa and at least R1-million to the SACP.

On Monday, Nzimande rejected the allegations in a media briefing, vowing to take legal action. He said he would voluntarily subject himself to the African National Congress's ethics and integrity bodies.

Amid calls for him to step down, he stated that he was not guilty of corruption and added that there was no need for him to resign.

DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Karabo Khakhau said that Nzimande squandered his opportunity to take the public into his confidence, on Monday.

"He provided no evidence to contradict Outa's allegations and assure vulnerable students who depend on NSFAS or the public at large that he hasn't wilfully risked their futures to enrich himself and his comrades," said Khakhau.

ActionSA also rejected Nzimande's "theatrical attempt at a press conference", and said he evaded accountability through a "laughable tale" of being the victim of an elite conspiracy.

"Such delusions are unworthy of serious consideration," said ActionSA Youth Forum chairperson Hluphi Gafane.

She explained that in undermining the principles of transparency and accountability, Nzimande resorted to invoking racial undertones to shield himself from scrutiny - "a tactic befitting someone caught red-handed with his grubby hands in the cookie jar".

ActionSA is of the view that Nzimande lacked the authority to speak on behalf of poor students, owing to what the party calls a track record marred by a shameful combination of mismanagement, cronyism and corruption, which it says has only exacerbated the disenfranchisement of poor students.

Outa has also confirmed that criminal charges had been drawn up with regards to the leaked recordings against Nzimande, Khosa, Thula Ntumba, the directors of Coinvest as well as Coinvest Africa itself for corruption and bribery in terms of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (No. 12 of 2004).

Outa said it would be sharing the report and recordings with the Auditor-General, the Public Protector, Werksmans Attorneys, the South African Revenue Service, National Treasury and the umbrella body for universities, Universities South Africa.

The report will also be given to the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation for oversight purposes, the organisation said.

Outa reiterated its call for Nzimande and Khosa to resign.

"If they don't want to resign, President Cyril Ramaphosa must for once show that he is putting the country before his party and remove them from their positions," the organisation said.