Ramaphosa moves to block parliamentary report reviving impeachment push

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has moved to court seeking to block a parliamentary report that has reopened the door to possible impeachment proceedings against him, intensifying a long-running political and legal dispute over allegations linked to cash allegedly stolen from his private farm.

In a legal application filed on Tuesday at the High Court in Cape Town, Ramaphosa argues that the independent panel’s findings were flawed and should be overturned, warning that the report has wrongly triggered fresh impeachment steps in parliament. The president maintains that the panel failed in its mandate and misread the evidence presented to it.

In his court papers, Ramaphosa states that the panel had "misconceived its mandate, misjudged the information placed before it and misinterpreted the four charges advanced against me". He further argues that the findings should be set aside, which would effectively cancel the impeachment process now underway.

"I do not make this application lightly," the president says in the court submission, arguing that the report should be set aside, thereby annulling the impeachment process.

The case traces back to the so-called “Farmgate” scandal, which emerged in 2020 after $580,000 (£430,000) was allegedly stolen from Phala Phala, Ramaphosa’s farm in Limpopo province. The president has consistently denied wrongdoing, insisting the money came from a legitimate sale of buffalo in his farming business.

In 2022, an independent panel concluded that Ramaphosa may have violated his oath of office and found that he had a "case to answer". The allegations included possible violations of the constitution and serious misconduct.

South Africa has strict regulations on foreign currency holdings, requiring that such funds be deposited with an authorised dealer such as a bank within 30 days.

Earlier this month, a Constitutional Court ruling found that parliament had acted unconstitutionally when it voted four years ago against setting up an impeachment inquiry based on the panel’s report. At that time, Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) held a parliamentary majority.

Following the 2024 general election, the ANC lost its outright majority and now governs in a coalition, shifting the political balance in parliament.

In response, the Speaker of parliament has established an impeachment committee made up of 31 MPs drawn from 16 political parties, including nine members of the ANC, the leading party in the governing coalition. The committee will now determine whether there are sufficient grounds to proceed with formal impeachment proceedings.

The legal challenge now places the High Court at the centre of a dispute that could shape whether the impeachment process moves forward or is halted at its current stage.