President Cyril Ramaphosa has asked the Western Cape High Court to stop parliament’s impeachment inquiry from proceeding, arguing he will “suffer severe harm” if the committee begins its work before judges decide whether an independent inquiry’s report on the handling of a 2020 theft at his farm is lawful.
The urgent application, set to be heard next week, seeks to bar parliament’s impeachment committee from commencing its inquiry until Ramaphosa’s bid to have the inquiry’s report reviewed is finalised.
The move marks the latest escalation in the long‑running effort to impeach Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal, which involves the alleged theft of $580,000 from Ramaphosa’s farm in February 2020.
The president is accused of breaching the country’s laws by failing to declare the foreign currency that was kept at his farm, and for failing to report the theft to the authorities.
An independent panel was appointed, which concluded that there was prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have violated the constitution and anti-corruption laws.
However, despite the panel’s findings, the National Assembly blocked an earlier bid to impeach Ramaphosa in December 2022, using the then African National Congress majority in parliament.
The Constitutional Court later ruled in May 2026 that parliament acted unlawfully in dismissing the panel report, effectively reviving the impeachment process and directing the establishment of a 31-member impeachment committee
Ramaphosa is currently seeking to block the impeachment process from proceeding.
Despite the pending court challenge, committee members are already preparing names of evidence leaders and proposed terms of reference.
Parliament, the Impeachment Committee and the African Transformation Movement have all filed papers opposing the interdict.
Ramaphosa’s legal team argues that preliminary steps may continue but the inquiry itself should pause until the independent panel report is tested in court. The review application is scheduled for early September.
JN/APA