In a media statement, VF Plus leader Dr Corné Mulder said the party supports the judgment that the Independent Panel’s report, which found a prima facie case of serious constitutional or legal violations by the President, must now be referred to a parliamentary committee for further investigation.

The ruling invalidates the ANC-led majority’s December 2022 vote (214 to 148) that blocked any deeper probe into the 2020 burglary at Ramaphosa’s Limpopo game farm, where an estimated $580,000 in foreign currency was stolen, sparking allegations of cover-ups and improper conduct.

However, Mulder expressed deep concern that the court went beyond simply ordering Parliament to act. He argued that the ruling implies the entire Section 89 presidential removal process should be “simplified,” effectively making the independent expert panel redundant. This would allow a removal motion to proceed straight to a full parliamentary inquiry without a preliminary assessment or a National Assembly vote on whether to investigate the panel’s report.

“The Court has, therefore, not only ruled on what must happen but has also prescribed how the process should unfold in the future,” Mulder said. “This makes the Freedom Front Plus uncomfortable. The Court is encroaching too far into the domain of the legislature. It is in the interest of democracy that Parliament can act independently and without interference.”

While the ruling does not determine any guilt on the part of the President and has been hailed by opposition parties like the EFF and ATM as a victory for accountability, the VF Plus insists that the delicate balance between judicial oversight and parliamentary sovereignty must be respected.

Parliament has now been ordered to establish a committee to consider the report.

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In a formal letter, EFF chief whip Nothando Nolutshungu urged Parliament to “immediately initiate the process” to give effect to the ruling, which set aside Parliament’s 2022 decision to shelve an independent panel report on the Phala Phala scandal.

That panel, chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, found prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have violated the Constitution over the 2020 theft of about $580,000 from his Limpopo farm.

Chief Justice Mandisa Maya emphasized that Section 89 requires the National Assembly to hold the President accountable. EFF leader Julius Malema welcomed the judgment as a “victory for accountability,” while the DA said it would participate fairly in any committee process.

The ConCourt ruling forces the matter back into the spotlight, but impeachment remains difficult, requiring a two-thirds Assembly majority. Parliament has yet to respond formally or set a timeline for compliance.

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In a landmark ruling delivered this morning, Friday, the Constitutional Court has declared Parliament’s 2022 decision to reject an independent panel report into the Phala Phala farm scandal unconstitutional and invalid, potentially reviving impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Acting Chief Justice Mandisa Maya set the National Assembly’s vote aside and referred the Section 89 panel report back to the impeachment committee, reopening the possibility of formal proceedings under Section 89 of the Constitution.

The ruling stems from a challenge brought by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the African Transformation Movement (ATM) against Parliament’s handling of the report. In December 2022, the National Assembly voted 214 to 148 against adopting the findings of the independent panel, chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, which had concluded there was prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have committed serious misconduct and violated his oath of office.

The Phala Phala scandal dates back to February 2020, when thieves broke into Ramaphosa’s private game farm in Limpopo and stole between $400,000 and $580,000 in foreign currency, money the president said was proceeds from the sale of buffalo. Questions were raised over the handling of the undeclared cash, the delayed police report, and the involvement of state security officials in the recovery effort.

While Ramaphosa was cleared by the Public Protector and the South African Reserve Bank on related ethics and exchange-control complaints, the independent panel found grounds for further parliamentary scrutiny under the Constitution’s impeachment provisions.

Friday’s judgment does not determine the president’s guilt or innocence. Instead, it focuses on whether Parliament acted rationally and constitutionally when it voted down the panel’s recommendations without proceeding to a formal impeachment inquiry.

The decision is expected to intensify political pressure on the president and test the balance of power between the executive, legislature, and judiciary in South Africa’s young democracy. Opposition parties have long argued that the original rejection shielded Ramaphosa from accountability.

Parliament’s impeachment committee must now reconsider the panel report in light of the court’s findings. Further developments are expected in the coming weeks as the process unfolds.

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