AFRICAN TRANSFORMATION MOVEMENT ATM
COURTS RULING ON THE PHALA PHALA CASE.
The African Transformation Movement notes the Constitutional Court’s judgment on the Phala Phala matter with the seriousness it deserves. The Court has now made it plain that Parliament may not use procedure to shield power from constitutional scrutiny. By declaring Rule 129(i)(b) inconsistent with the Constitution, setting aside the National
Assembly vote of 13 December 2022, and directing that the independent panel’s report be referred to an impeachment committee, the Court has restored the accountability process required by our constitutional order.
This judgment is not a finding of guilt against President Cyril Ramaphosa; it is a reaffirmation that no President, no party majority, and no institution stands above the Constitution.
For ATM, the Phala Phala matter has never been about personalities, factions, or political theatre. It has always been about moral governance, the rule of law, and the protection of the people’s trust. The Section 89 Independent Panel already found prima facie evidence that the President may have committed serious violations and serious misconduct.
Parliament’s duty was not to bury those findings, but to allow a proper inquiry. South Africans who endure poverty, unemployment, crime, and collapsing services deserve a state that acts with honesty and transparency, not one that appears to reserve accountability for the weak while protecting the powerful.
We therefore call for the impeachment committee to be convened without delay, for its
work to be conducted openly and lawfully, and for the President to cooperate fully with every constitutional and investigative process. We reject both impunity and trial by slogan.
We stand for truth, fairness, and equal justice.
This moment will define whether Parliament remains a guardian of constitutional
democracy or becomes an instrument for shielding executive misconduct. South Africans
are watching, and history will remember those who chose principle over convenience, and those who failed the nation when accountability was most required.
