South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a legal challenge against a parliamentary report that could revive impeachment proceedings against him. The president’s High Court filing, submitted Tuesday in Cape Town, alleges that the independent inquiry into alleged misconduct at his farm was misconceived its mandate, misjudged the information put before it and misinterpreted the four charges advanced against me.
In 2022 the panel concluded that Ramaphosa might have committed serious misconduct relating to the theft of a large sum of cash—about $580 000 (£430 000)—hidden in a sofa at his private estate in Limpopo. The president denied any wrongdoing, but the report effectively opened the possibility for a formal impeachment process within Parliament.
A recent Constitutional Court ruling this month declared that Parliament had acted unconstitutionally when it suppressed an impeachment inquiry four years ago. At the time, the ANC still held a parliamentary majority. However, following the 2024 general election, the ANC lost its majority and now governs as part of a coalition.
The Speaker has already set up an impeachment committee featuring 31 MPs from 16 political parties, nine of which belong to the ANC. The committee will decide whether the report furnishes enough grounds to bring the president before a parliamentary impeachment trial.
The saga that has become known as Farmgate began in 2020 when the alleged theft of cash sparked a broader inquiry into Ramaphosa’s financial dealings. The independent panel, which argued there was a case to answer, suggested possible violations of the Constitution and serious misconduct. Ramaphosa has maintained that the money was legitimately earned from the sale of buffalo his farming operation had undertaken.
The president’s court submission stresses that the report was both legally and procedurally defective and that its findings should be discarded, thereby disabling the impeachment pathway.
The next steps in this unfolding political drama will unfold as both the court hearing and the parliamentary committee weigh the evidence and decide the president’s fate.}
In 2022 the panel concluded that Ramaphosa might have committed serious misconduct relating to the theft of a large sum of cash—about $580 000 (£430 000)—hidden in a sofa at his private estate in Limpopo. The president denied any wrongdoing, but the report effectively opened the possibility for a formal impeachment process within Parliament.
A recent Constitutional Court ruling this month declared that Parliament had acted unconstitutionally when it suppressed an impeachment inquiry four years ago. At the time, the ANC still held a parliamentary majority. However, following the 2024 general election, the ANC lost its majority and now governs as part of a coalition.
The Speaker has already set up an impeachment committee featuring 31 MPs from 16 political parties, nine of which belong to the ANC. The committee will decide whether the report furnishes enough grounds to bring the president before a parliamentary impeachment trial.
The saga that has become known as Farmgate began in 2020 when the alleged theft of cash sparked a broader inquiry into Ramaphosa’s financial dealings. The independent panel, which argued there was a case to answer, suggested possible violations of the Constitution and serious misconduct. Ramaphosa has maintained that the money was legitimately earned from the sale of buffalo his farming operation had undertaken.
The president’s court submission stresses that the report was both legally and procedurally defective and that its findings should be discarded, thereby disabling the impeachment pathway.
The next steps in this unfolding political drama will unfold as both the court hearing and the parliamentary committee weigh the evidence and decide the president’s fate.}
