Bank statements linked to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s CR17 campaign for the ANC presidency will not be publicly released.

However, other evidence related to Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s report on that campaign may be made public – depending on whether Ramaphosa’s lawyers are satisfied that it was lawfully obtained and is not confidential.

This follows a meeting between the parties on Thursday.

Mkhwebane’s office has expressed her unhappiness with the decisions taken by Pretoria High Court Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba in regard to the so-called “Rule 53 record” she filed as part of her efforts to explain the findings she made against the president and his campaign.

“She is just disappointed that the deputy judge president reached that decision, despite the fact that the president’s lawyers have failed to produce any evidence to back up the basis upon which they made that request (for the record to be partially sealed),” Mkhwebane’s spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe, said on Thursday.

Ramaphosa’s lawyers last week asked Ledwaba that parts of that record - which include emails and bank statements - be sealed and not made available to the public. This, they contended, was due to issues of donor confidentiality and questions over whether this evidence was legally obtained. 

Ledwaba is understood to have agreed that the Ramaphosa campaign bank statements should be sealed, and given Ramaphosa’s lawyers until August 26 to raise any further issues with evidence they believe should be sealed. He will then make further decisions on what evidence can be released.