Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa (Photo: Presidency / X)
Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa has submitted an urgent application to the Western Cape High Court to stop the activities of the parliamentary impeachment committee, which must decide whether he should be placed in a state of impeachment.
Ramaphosa requested the court to prohibit the committee from continuing with its work pending the finalization of its review application regarding the report of the independent panel on the Phala Phala events.
“Even if only part of the impeachment inquiry is undertaken before the review application is decided upon, considerable damage will have already been done,” argues Ramaphosa.
“In that case, the review court will be confronted with a situation in which consequences arising from the report have already occurred before the validity of the report has been determined. The effectiveness of the review procedures will be substantially undermined,” Ramaphosa believes and adds that in this case he will not be able to obtain substantial correction in time.
Also read: Impeachment committee asks for legal opinion on Hlophe
Makashule Gana, the chairman of the parliamentary impeachment committee, said earlier that the committee would continue with its work, despite the president’s pending review application.
“Although it is within your right to take the section 89 independent panel report under judicial review, this house must be clear: The committee will continue with its work, unless the law provides otherwise,” Gana told Ramaphosa in parliament.
The entrance to pres. Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm Phala Phala. (Photo: Provided)
The 31 committee members met for the first time on 1 June during which Gana, Rise Mzansi MP, was elected as chairman.
Also read: Impeachment Committee to continue ‘until otherwise provided by law’
The committee’s establishment comes after the Constitutional Court found last month that parliament’s previous handling of the Phala Phala report was invalid.
The highest court found that certain aspects of the National Assembly’s (NA) rules on the process for removing a president from office are contrary to the Constitution. The court also ordered that the report of the independent panel be referred to the NA’s impeachment committee.
The case stems from the report of an independent panel appointed by the NV in September 2022 to conduct a preliminary investigation into allegations against Ramaphosa regarding the theft that took place on his farm in February 2020.
The NA voted on 13 December 2022 not to refer the panel’s report to an impeachment committee. The Constitutional Court has now ruled that this decision is set aside.
In his review application, Ramaphosa asks that the report be reviewed, declared illegal and set aside.