Ramaphosa impeachment process paused by South African court
A court order blocks public impeachment hearings while Cyril Ramaphosa challenges a report tied to the Farmgate scandal.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
A South African court has paused the Ramaphosa impeachment process, blocking public hearings while the president challenges the legal basis for the case. The Western Cape High Court order gives Cyril Ramaphosa more time to contest a 2022 report that said he may have committed serious violations and misconduct.
Judge Andre le Grange issued an interim interdict on Friday, preventing Parliament’s impeachment committee from holding public hearings until the court decides Ramaphosa’s review application. The order does not end the proceedings, but it stops the committee from advancing for now.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said the president respects the ruling and the independence of the courts. Magwenya said Ramaphosa would continue to cooperate with accountability processes.
Why is Ramaphosa facing impeachment?
The case stems from the Farmgate scandal, which involves $580,000 in foreign currency that was hidden in a sofa at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in Limpopo province, according to AFP and Reuters. The money became public after it was reported stolen in 2020.
Ramaphosa has denied wrongdoing and has ruled out resigning over the matter, AFP and Reuters reported. He has said the cash came from the sale of buffaloes, but the episode raised questions about why such a large amount of money was kept in furniture at the property.
An independent panel found in 2022 that Ramaphosa may have a case to answer over the scandal. The president is separately challenging those findings in court, and Friday’s ruling pauses the related parliamentary process while that legal fight continues.
What did the court order do?
An interim interdict is a temporary court order that blocks an action until a related legal question is resolved. In this case, it prevents the impeachment committee from proceeding with public hearings while Ramaphosa’s challenge to the 2022 report is heard.
The ruling is a political reprieve for Ramaphosa, who came close to losing the leadership of the African National Congress in late 2022 as the scandal intensified, according to AFP and Reuters. Allegations of corruption within the ANC later helped weaken the party before the May 2024 election, when it lost its parliamentary majority in South Africa’s most competitive democratic vote.
Ramaphosa remains backed by the ANC, the country’s largest party, which now leads a coalition government. The ANC holds about 40 percent of seats in the National Assembly, and AFP and Reuters reported that it is unclear how all coalition partners would vote if an impeachment process reached that stage.
Political analysts expect Ramaphosa to stay in office even if the impeachment process resumes and eventually leads to a parliamentary vote on whether he should be removed, according to AFP and Reuters.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.