President Ramaphosa Faces Fresh Impeachment Threat After ConCourt Ruling

South Africa’s Constitutional Court has referred the Section 89 panel’s report on the Phala Phala scandal back to Parliament, clearing the way for an impeachment process against President Cyril Ramaphosa to proceed.

The Court handed down its much-anticipated judgment at Constitutional Hill in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, on Friday, 8 May 2026.

The Court ruled that the National Assembly acted irrationally when it refused to adopt a report which found that Ramaphosa may have breached his oath of office over his response to the burglary at his Phala Phala farm.

The Section 89 report was tabled in Parliament in December 2022. It found that the President may have violated his oath of office and the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.

However, Parliament did not adopt the report. The African National Congress (ANC) used its majority in the House to vote against it.

The Constitutional Court said that the vote was unconstitutional and set it aside.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the African Transformation Movement (ATM) approached the apex court after Parliament declined to adopt the independent panel’s report. Adoption of the report could have triggered an impeachment inquiry.

The panel concluded there was enough basis for Ramaphosa to answer questions about the theft of around $580,000, roughly R9.6 million, allegedly stolen from his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in February 2020.

In December 2022, the National Assembly voted against referring the report to an impeachment committee. ANC MPs followed the party’s instruction and used their majority to reject the findings.

Delivering the first judgment, Chief Justice Maya said the EFF and ATM were seeking an order declaring Parliament’s vote unlawful and irrational.

The applicants also challenged the constitutionality of Rule 129I of the National Assembly’s rules. That rule governs the process for removing a president from office under Section 89 of the Constitution.

The Chief Justice said that although the application was filed more than a year after the parliamentary vote, that did not stop the Court from hearing the matter.

She pointed out that the relief sought by the applicants was not “moot”, as the Court is not barred from considering a challenge to the National Assembly’s rules.

More: The Citizen

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