Impeachment Committee Vows to Continue Work Despite Ramaphosa’s Legal Challenge to Halt Proceedings

• Parliament's Impeachment Committee met to discuss what it would do about President Cyril Ramaphosa's legal challenge
• The president's legal team filed papers in the Western Cape High Court, asking that the impeachment process against him be halted
• Ramaphosa is also seeking that the court review and set aside the Section 89 Independent Panel Report into the Phala Phala saga

Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.

WESTERN CAPE – President Cyril Ramaphosa’s legal challenges will not derail the work of Parliament’s Impeachment Committee.

That’s according to RISE Mzansi’s Makashule Gana, the chairperson of the 31-member committee tasked with investigating potential misconduct by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Phala Phala farm scandal.

Gana made the comments after the committee met on Thursday, 18 July, to discuss the president’s decision to file an urgent legal bid to prevent Parliament from proceeding with the process.

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Ramaphosa’s legal team filed papers in the Western Cape High Court, asking that the National Assembly Speaker, Thoko Didiza and Gana be barred from conducting any impeachment proceedings while the review application brought by the president remains before the courts.

Parliament to continue its work

During the committee meeting, Parliament resolved to oppose the president’s application to put the matter on hold.

The African National Congress (ANC) attempted to convince the committee not to oppose the application, but it failed, with Build One South Africa (BOSA) leader, Mmusi Maimane, saying it would set a bad precedent if Parliament didn’t challenge Ramaphosa’s application.

With Ramaphosa’s case only set to be heard on 15 July 2026, the committee also resolved to continue its work despite the legal challenge.

“We are going to focus on the things that are in our control. What’s in our control is to get the process on the go,” Gana said.

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The committee will now meet again sometime next week to determine its terms of reference and discuss the appointment of an evidence leader for the inquiry. Ramaphosa wants the committee's proceedings halted while he asks the court to review and set aside the Section 89 Independent Panel Report.

The report found prima facie evidence that the president may have violated his oath of office regarding the cover-up of the theft of foreign currency from his farm in 2020.

The National Assembly initially rejected the report in 2022, as the African National Congress used its majority to vote against it, but the Constitutional Court has since ruled that this decision was unlawful and unconstitutional.`

Other stories about the ConCourt ruling

Briefly News has covered several articles about the aftermath of the ruling, as several politicians weighed in on the judgment.

• Julius Malema welcomed the ConCourt’s ruling and suggested that Ramaphosa resign before he was impeached.
• Mahlengi Bhengu said that the African National Congress was committed to the rule of law following the ruling.
• The Democratic Alliance said that the president must be held accountable after the ConCourt’s decision.
• Gayton McKenzie insisted that the Patriotic Alliance would not vote to impeach President Ramaphosa.
• Herman Mashaba called the Phala Phala saga a serious embarrassment to the nation.

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President Cyril Ramaphosa launches urgent court bid to halt impeachment inquiry proceedings

ANC backs Cyril Ramaphosa over Phala Phala decision

In another article, the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC) met to discuss the Constitutional Court's recent ruling on Phala Phala.

Briefly News reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa was not present at the meeting, as he was the subject of the discussions that were taking place.

South Africans took to social media to share mixed reactions to the NEC's resolution that the party stood behind the president's decision.

Source: Briefly News