CAPE TOWN – Julius Malema and supporters of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) celebrated outside Constitutional Hill on Friday after the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that Parliament acted unlawfully in rejecting the Section 89 panel report into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala scandal.
The apex court found that the National Assembly’s December 2022 decision to dismiss the findings of the independent panel was irrational and inconsistent with the Constitution, reopening the possibility of a full impeachment inquiry into the President.
Addressing jubilant supporters outside the court, Malema declared that the Phala Phala controversy “will never die” and challenged the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to choose between defending Ramaphosa and protecting the country’s constitutional integrity.
“Facing impeachment is the same as standing in a court of law. There is prima facie evidence. Let us now see whether the step-aside rule applies only to certain individuals and not to Ramaphosa,” Malema said.
The Constitutional Court ordered Parliament to properly process the Section 89 panel findings, effectively reviving a process that had been halted when lawmakers voted 214 to 148 against adopting the report nearly three years ago.
The judgment was delivered 521 days after arguments were heard, following legal action brought by the EFF and the African Transformation Movement (ATM) in November 2024.
At the centre of the legal dispute was Rule 129 of Parliament’s impeachment procedures, which the EFF argued granted lawmakers excessive discretion to override the findings of an independent panel and block impeachment proceedings. The Constitutional Court agreed, ruling that the provision and Parliament’s reliance on it were unconstitutional.
Outside the court building, EFF supporters celebrated the ruling with songs and chants while waving placards calling for Ramaphosa’s arrest and renewed scrutiny over the Phala Phala matter.
Vuyo Zungula, leader of the ATM in Parliament, said the judgment vindicated opposition concerns that Parliament had failed in its oversight responsibilities by refusing to allow a full inquiry into the allegations.
The case centres on events dating back to February 2020, when thieves allegedly broke into Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo and stole approximately US$580,000 in foreign currency reportedly concealed at the property.
An independent Section 89 panel later concluded there was prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have committed serious constitutional violations, including possible breaches relating to the handling and disclosure of the funds. However, the ANC-led Parliament rejected the report in 2022, effectively shielding the President from a full impeachment investigation.
The matter will now return to the National Assembly, where MPs must reconsider the panel’s findings and determine whether to proceed with a formal impeachment inquiry in a significantly altered political environment following the ANC’s loss of its parliamentary majority after the 2024 elections.
The ruling is expected to intensify political tensions ahead of South Africa’s upcoming local government elections, with the Phala Phala controversy once again thrust to the centre of national debate.
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