President Cyril Ramaphosa has launched a legal bid to stop the revival of the impeachment process linked to the Phala Phala scandal, arguing that the independent panel’s findings were flawed and unlawful.
In papers filed at the Western Cape High Court, Ramaphosa asked the court to review and set aside the report compiled by the independent panel chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo. The panel had previously found there was a prima facie case for Ramaphosa to answer regarding the Phala Phala farm theft controversy.
Ramaphosa argued in his affidavit that the panel“ misconceived its mandate“, misjudged the information placed before it” and “misinterpreted” the charges against him. He also claimed the panel went beyond the scope of the allegations and considered issues that were not properly before it. The move follows a major Constitutional Court ruling on 8 May, which effectively revived the stalled impeachment proceedings. The court ruled in favour of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), finding that Parliament’s impeachment rules were unconstitutional because they allowed the National Assembly to block an inquiry after receiving an independent panel report.
That judgment reopened the possibility of impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa — a process the ANC had previously halted in 2022 using its parliamentary majority. Ramaphosa said it would be “intolerable and a travesty” for Parliament to continue with impeachment proceedings while the legality of the panel’s report is still being challenged in court. He added that he trusts Parliament will pause the process, but warned that if lawmakers proceed, he will seek an urgent interdict to stop them.