In response to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s urgent request to halt the work of Parliament’s Section 89 Impeachment Committee resulting from the Phala Phala scandal, the Western Cape High Court is anticipated to render a decision on Friday.
In order to stop the committee’s work while he pursues a separate court review of the independent Section 89 panel findings, which concluded that he might be held accountable for the 2020 break-in at his game farm in Limpopo, Ramaphosa is pursuing an interim indictment.
After the Constitutional Court declared in May that the National Assembly had acted irrationally by voting against putting the panel’s recommendations into effect and mandated that the report be returned to Parliament, the impeachment procedure was reinstated.
The panel had earlier discovered preliminary evidence that Ramaphosa’s handling of the foreign currency theft from the farm may have violated anti-corruption laws and articles of the Constitution. Ramaphosa has filed a review application, which will be considered in September, and has denied any misconduct.
It is anticipated that the court’s decision will decide whether Parliament’s impeachment committee may carry on with its work while the review procedure is ongoing. Ramaphosa’s legal team claims that permitting the investigation to continue until the review is completed could result in irreversible harm, while opposition parties have argued that the committee should move forward. The ruling is being keenly followed because it may influence how the Phala Phala case develops in the future and how Parliament attempts to hold the president responsible.
Watch:
- The Western Cape High Court is expected to decide on Friday whether to halt Parliament's Section 89 Impeachment Committee investigating President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal.
- Ramaphosa seeks an interim injunction to stop the committee while he pursues a separate legal review of the panel's findings linking him to a 2020 break-in and alleged misconduct.
- The impeachment process was reinstated after the Constitutional Court ruled Parliament acted irrationally by initially rejecting the panel's recommendations.
- The panel found preliminary evidence that Ramaphosa may have violated anti-corruption laws and constitutional articles related to the foreign currency theft; Ramaphosa denies any wrongdoing.
- The court’s decision will determine if the committee can continue during the legal review, with Ramaphosa's team warning of potential irreversible harm, and opposition parties pushing for the investigation to proceed.
In response to President Cyril Ramaphosa's urgent request to halt the work of Parliament's Section 89 Impeachment Committee resulting from the Phala Phala scandal, the Western Cape High Court is anticipated to render a decision on Friday.
In order to stop the committee's work while he pursues a separate court review of the independent Section 89 panel findings, which concluded that he might be held accountable for the 2020 break-in at his game farm in Limpopo, Ramaphosa is pursuing an interim indictment.
After the Constitutional Court declared in May that the National
It is anticipated that the court's decision will decide whether Parliament's impeachment committee may carry on with its work while the review procedure is ongoing. Ramaphosa's legal team claims that permitting the investigation to continue until the review is completed could result in irreversible harm, while opposition parties have argued that the committee should move forward.
Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM6jpKI6bDs
