“Impeachment Must Continue”: EFF Responds to Cyril Ramaphosa’s Address Over Phala Phala Ruling

• The EFF has slammed Cyril Ramaphosa after he refused to resign over the Phala Phala scandal
• The party said Ramaphosa is using every legal and political route possible to avoid an impeachment inquiry
• The EFF insists Parliament must continue with the impeachment process despite the president’s review application

SOUTH AFRICA - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has responded strongly to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation following the Constitutional Court ruling on the Phala Phala matter.

Ramaphosa addressed South Africans on Monday, 11 May 2026, saying he would not resign from office. Instead, he confirmed that he would proceed with a judicial review application against the Section 89 panel report into the Phala Phala scandal.

EFF says Ramaphosa is avoiding accountability

In a statement, the EFF said Chief Justice Mandisa Maya made it clear in paragraph 139 of the judgment that Parliament’s work on the matter must continue unless the Phala Phala report is successfully reviewed and set aside.

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The party said Ramaphosa’s decision proves what it has “consistently maintained” all along.

“The decision by President Ramaphosa that he will exhaust every political and legal mechanism available to evade accountability and avoid facing an impeachment inquiry before Parliament,” the statement read.

The EFF also described the review application as “opportunistic” and “dishonest”, saying it showed that the president has no genuine commitment to accountability, transparency or constitutional governance.

The party reminded South Africans that Ramaphosa first launched a review application against the Section 89 panel report in December 2022. At the time, the panel had found evidence suggesting the president may have violated the Constitution and his oath of office.

According to the EFF, the ANC later used its majority in Parliament to block the impeachment process. The party claimed Ramaphosa quietly withdrew the review application because he believed the matter had been politically buried.

See the EFF statement posted on Sinawo Tambo's X account:

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EFF says the impeachment process must continue

The EFF said it plans to join the review application and will ask the court to treat the matter with urgency. The party insisted that the impeachment process must continue despite the review application.

The party added that Ramaphosa must still be held accountable under the Constitution and the rule of law.

“If Cyril Ramaphosa had any conscience, political integrity or respect for the people of South Africa and the constitutional order he swore to uphold, he would resign and allow the country to move forward,” the statement concluded.

ANC calls emergency meeting to discuss Phala Phala

Previously, Briefly News reported that ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula called an urgent special National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Cape Town on Tuesday night as the governing party deals with the political fallout from last week’s Constitutional Court ruling linked to the Phala Phala saga. The meeting comes at a tense moment for President Cyril Ramaphosa, whose future as ANC leader and as head of state is now under heavy scrutiny following the court’s decision. The ruling has effectively stalled impeachment-related processes that had been building pressure around him.

Source: Briefly News