The Constitutional Court today, Friday, declared Parliament’s 2022 decision to block a Section 89 panel report into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s handling of the Phala Phala scandal unconstitutional, reopening the impeachment process.
The ruling revives scrutiny over the 2020 burglary at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in Limpopo, where about $580,000 in undeclared foreign currency was stolen. The independent panel, chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, had found prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have committed serious constitutional violations before Parliament’s ANC majority voted against proceeding with an impeachment inquiry in December 2022.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu described the judgment as “a test of democracy” and said the party would respect the ruling and study its implications.
The African Transformation Movement (ATM), which challenged the decision alongside the EFF, welcomed the outcome, saying it reaffirmed that “no president, governing party, or institution stands above the Constitution.”
The Presidency said Ramaphosa respects the judgment and the independence of the judiciary.
Parliament’s Speaker has now been ordered to establish an ad hoc committee within 30 days to consider the panel’s findings further.