Rise Mzansi’s Makashule Gana elected impeachment committee chairperson

Parliament’sSection 89 Impeachment Committeehas elected RISE Mzansi MP Makashule Gana as its chairperson as it begins considering whether PresidentCyril Ramaphosashould face impeachment over thePhala Phalascandal. “We will be in communication with all the members of the committee in terms of the next processes to be taken. The meeting is adjourned,” Gana said after his election.

Gana received 19 votes, defeating United African Transformation (UAT) leader Wonderboy Mahlatse, who secured 12 votes. ANC MP Mikateko Mahlaule nominated Gana. Democratic Alliance MP George Michalakis seconded the nomination.

Economic Freedom Front (EFF) MP Omphile Maotwe nominated UAT’s Mahlatse and United Democratic Movement MP Nqabayomzi Lawrence Kwankwa seconded it. Parliamentary Communication Services officer Faith Ndenze said the election marked the start of the committee’s work. “The committee will now turn its attention to determining its programme of work and the next steps in the inquiry process.

[paywall]

Details of future meetings and activities will be communicated in due course,” she said. Gana was backed by parties aligned with the government of national unity (GNU), many of which haveopposed calls for Ramaphosa’s impeachment. Mahlatse was supported by opposition parties, including the EFF and the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, which havecalled for the president’s removal.

National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza established the 31-member committee after the Constitution Court rendered the 2022 vote against the impeachment illegal. The committee has been tasked to investigate whether Ramaphosa violated the Constitution or engaged in misconduct in a scandal that saw $580 000 stolen from his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo. Ramaphosa is reported to have stated that he would not oppose the interim findings of the impeachment committee. However, he ischallenging the Phala Phala independent panel’s reportin the Western Cape High Court, arguing that the panel misunderstood its mandate and the legal threshold required under section 89 of the Constitution

[/paywall]