A South African court on Friday ruled in favour of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s application to temporarily halt impeachment proceedings linked to the controversial Phala Phala cash scandal involving hundreds of thousands of dollars reportedly hidden inside a sofa at his private ranch.
The Western Cape High Court granted Ramaphosa’s request to stop the parliamentary impeachment committee from continuing its work until the court determines his application to review a November 2022 independent panel report, which concluded that he “may have committed” serious constitutional violations and misconduct.
Ramaphosa has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly rejected calls to resign since the cash scandal emerged following the reported theft of foreign currency from his Phala Phala farm in 2020.
Delivering the ruling, Judge Andre le Grange ordered that the impeachment process be put on hold pending the outcome of the judicial review.
“Pending the determination by this court of the applicant’s review… respondents are interdicted from proceeding with a public impeachment hearing,” the judge ruled.
The South African president is accused of failing to properly report to police and tax authorities the burglary at his luxury Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo Province, during which approximately $580,000 in cash was allegedly stolen.
Ramaphosa has maintained that he reported the break-in to law enforcement authorities and insisted that the money originated from the legitimate sale of 20 buffaloes.
The allegations against the president were brought by a former head of South Africa’s intelligence service and former ally of ex-President Jacob Zuma. The complainant alleged that Ramaphosa concealed the theft of $4 million from both the police and tax authorities.
Responding to criticism from opposition parties, who accused him of attempting to evade accountability, Ramaphosa said after Friday’s court ruling that he remained committed to respecting South Africa’s constitutional institutions.
In a statement issued following the judgment, the presidency said:
“The President reaffirms his respect of judicial independence and separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution.
“The President will continue to cooperate with and abide by processes of accountability.”
If the impeachment process eventually proceeds, it would mark the first time a sitting South African president faces formal impeachment proceedings.
The Western Cape High Court is expected to hear Ramaphosa’s application in September, during which he will seek to overturn the findings of the 2022 independent panel that concluded there was sufficient evidence suggesting he may have a case to answer.
Although South Africa’s National Assembly previously voted against initiating impeachment proceedings—thanks to the parliamentary majority held by Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC)—the matter resurfaced after the Constitutional Court overturned that parliamentary decision in May this year.
That judgment paved the way for the establishment of a parliamentary impeachment committee to reconsider the allegations.
Meanwhile, the public prosecutor had already dropped criminal charges related to the matter in 2024, leaving the constitutional and parliamentary aspects of the controversy to continue through the courts and legislature.
