ConCourt Sets Aside Parliament’s Rejection of Phala Phala Report, Reopens Impeachment Path Against RamaphosaJohannesburg – The Constitutional Court has ruled Parliament’s 2022 decision to reject the independent panel report into the Phala Phala farm scandal unconstitutional and invalid, reopening the path for possible impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa.Acting Chief Justice Mandisa Maya delivered the judgment Friday morning.
The court set aside the National Assembly’s vote and referred the Section 89 panel report back to the impeachment committee. The order allows formal proceedings under Section 89 of the Constitution to move forward.
The case was brought by the Economic Freedom Fighters and the African Transformation Movement, who challenged how Parliament handled the report. In December 2022, MPs voted 214 to 148 against adopting the findings of the panel chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo.
That panel concluded there was prima facie evidence Ramaphosa may have committed serious misconduct and violated his oath of office.
The scandal involves Phala Phala matter stems from a February 2020 break-in at Ramaphosa’s private game farm in Limpopo. Thieves stole between $400,000 and $580,000 in foreign currency.
Ramaphosa said the money came from the sale of buffalo. Questions followed about why the cash was undeclared, why the theft was not reported to police sooner, and what role state security officials played in recovering it. Ramaphosa was later cleared by the Public Protector and the South African Reserve Bank on related ethics and exchange-control complaints.
The independent panel, however, found enough grounds for Parliament to conduct further scrutiny under the Constitution’s impeachment provisions.
The ruling means that the Constitutional Court’s judgment does not rule on Ramaphosa’s guilt or innocence. It focuses on whether Parliament acted rationally and constitutionally when it voted down the panel’s recommendations without launching a formal inquiry. Opposition parties have said the 2022 rejection shielded the president from accountability.
Parliament’s impeachment committee must now reconsider the panel report in line with the court’s findings. Further developments are expected in the coming weeks as the committee reviews the report and decides on next steps.
