Thami Magubane and Pule Makgale|Published57 minutes agoPhala Phala: ConCourt ruling could revive Ramaphosa impeachment bid

President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to know his fate on Friday when the Constitutional Court delivers its verdict on the matter brought by the EFF. As the Constitutional Court is expected to deliver a judgment tomorrow in a landmark Phala Phala case involving President Cyril Ramaphosa, opposition parties and political experts have called for justice and the president to be held accountable. Political parties believe the ConCourt ruling will repair the reputational damage to government institutions that found themselves “scrambling to protect” Ramaphosa after the scandal broke into the public domain.

Tomorrow’s ruling is expected to make a determination on whether Parliament acted lawfully when it rejected a report recommending an impeachment inquiry into Ramaphosa. The dispute centres on a Section 89 independent panel chaired by retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo. The panel concluded that there was sufficient evidence to justify Parliament considering the establishment of an impeachment inquiry against the president.

The findings relate to allegations involving the handling of foreign currency at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo. The panel examined claims that about R9.5 million in foreign currency was concealed in a sofa on the property and later stolen, along with questions about whether proper procedures were followed following the incident. The report concluded that the evidence presented was sufficient to warrant further scrutiny through a formal impeachment inquiry.

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That vote halted the impeachment process before it could proceed to the inquiry stage. ATM president Vuyolwethu Zungula, who has been at the forefront of the Phala Phala legal battle, posted on X that South Africans must remember that the president is not above the law and that several laws were broken in the Phala Phala case. Zungula said: “There are certain principles that ought to guide us as a country: the rule of law and the principle that we are all equal before the law.

Now, if any ordinary person would have committed the same crimes as those committed by Ramaphosa, we do not think all these institutions would have kept quiet; they would have acted. As a member of Parliament, it is our duty to ensure he is held to account. We are going to continue with this process until Mr Ramaphosa is impeached and a motion of no confidence is passed against him.”

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