South Africa’s Constitutional Court has ruled that Parliament must reconsider the impeachment process against President Cyril Ramaphosa concerning the Phala Phala farm scandal. The court’s decision effectively sets aside a 2022 parliamentary vote that had previously blocked an inquiry into the matter. This ruling revives legal and political scrutiny regarding the alleged cover-up of a 2020 theft involving significant sums of foreign currency hidden at the president’s private estate, potentially leading to a formal Section 89 inquiry into his conduct.
- The Constitutional Court declared Parliament’s previous decision to reject an independent panel’s report as unlawful and invalid.
- The original report found “prima facie” evidence that the president may have committed a serious violation of the Constitution and the law.
- The case involves the 2020 theft of an estimated $580,000 in cash from the president’s Phala Phala game farm, which was not initially reported to the police.
- Opposition parties challenged the National Assembly’s decision, arguing that the legislature failed in its constitutional obligation to hold the executive accountable.
- The ruling mandates that the National Assembly must revisit the findings of the Section 89 panel, which could lead to impeachment proceedings.
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