CAPE TOWN, June 25 — South Africa’s National Assembly has adopted rules for the Impeachment Committee dealing with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala case, local media reported on Wednesday.
The rules, adopted on Tuesday evening, give effect to Section 89 inquiry procedures governing the impeachment of a president, according to media reports, paving the way for the committee to begin its work despite Ramaphosa’s court bid to halt the process pending a review of an independent panel report on the case.
Section 89 of the Constitution allows the National Assembly to remove a president from office on the grounds of serious violation of the Constitution or the law, serious misconduct, or inability to perform the functions of office.
The 31-member Impeachment Committee was established last month after South Africa’s Constitutional Court ruled that the parliament had acted unlawfully when it rejected the panel’s report in 2022 and declared its impeachment rules for a president invalid.
The Phala Phala case stems from the alleged theft of about 580,000 U.S. dollars in cash from Ramaphosa’s private game farm in Limpopo Province in 2020.
The independent panel chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo found in its 2022 report that there was prima facie evidence suggesting Ramaphosa may have committed serious misconduct in connection with the matter.
However, the National Assembly later voted against adopting the report and proceeding with impeachment. Ramaphosa filed an urgent court application on June 12 seeking to suspend the Impeachment Committee’s work while challenging the findings of the report.
On Monday, Chairperson of the Impeachment Committee Makashule Gana filed an affidavit opposing the application. The matter is scheduled to be heard in the Western Cape High Court on July 15 and 16. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
