Parliament must now restart the process and properly consider the independent panel’s findings through its impeachment committee, which could lead to a renewed investigation into President Ramaphosa.
Image: File
The Constitutional Court has ruled that Parliament's handling of the Phala Phala report was unconstitutional and invalid, ordering that the matter must return to Parliament's impeachment committee.
The landmark judgment, handed down on Friday morning, has been welcomed by opposition parties as a victory for accountability and the rule of law.
The Constitutional Court delivered three key findings in the matter of Economic Freedom Fighters and Another v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others (CCT 35/24): Rule 129I of the National Assembly is inconsistent with the Constitution and is invalid.
The National Assembly's vote rejected the Section 89 independent panel report as irrational and unconstitutional, and is therefore also invalid.
The report must now be referred to Parliament's impeachment committee for a full parliamentary investigative process.
The ruling effectively overturns the December 2022 decision by the ANC-controlled National Assembly not to adopt the independent panel report, which had found prima facie evidence that President Cyril Ramaphosa may have violated his oath of office in connection with the theft of approximately $580,000 in foreign currency from his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in February 2020.
EFF leader Julius Malema welcomed the ruling, framing it as a demand for transparency rather than a predetermined verdict on the President's guilt.
"Again, the Constitutional Court — they're not saying he's done anything wrong, but they say there is a prima facie," Malema said following the ruling. "Can you please subject this to some process, to transparency, so that the people of South Africa can be exposed to the fact. You can take your vote after, if you want to take your vote, but let the people know what's happening so that they make an informed decision when the next election comes as to whether they still want to proceed with that criminal or not, but let the matters be open and transparent," Malema said.
Malema and the EFF were among the parties that brought the matter before the Constitutional Court after Parliament declined to adopt the panel report in 2022.
ActionSA described the ruling as "a victory for the South African people," noting that the report must now return to a Parliament where the ANC no longer commands the majority it once used to protect the President.
"The fact that this report must now return to a Parliament where the ANC no longer enjoys a majority that can protect the President over the Constitution is a victory for accountability," ActionSA National Chairperson, Dewan de Swardt said.
The party added that parties in the Government of National Unity who had "gone silent on Phala Phala since they entered government" must now demonstrate whether they will act in the interests of South Africans.
Build One South Africa (BOSA) was equally emphatic in its welcome of the judgment. "This judgment is a victory for constitutional accountability and the rule of law in South Africa," BOSA spokesperson Roger Solomons said. "It reaffirms a foundational democratic principle that no one is above the law, not the President, and not Parliament itself."
BOSA called on Parliament to comply fully with the ruling by adopting the independent panel report and immediately commencing the parliamentary investigative process in line with Section 89 of the Constitution. "The Court's ruling sends a clear message that constitutional obligations cannot be sidestepped for political convenience," Solomons said.
With the ruling now in force, Parliament is required to refer the Section 89 panel report to its impeachment committee and begin the investigative process afresh.
The independent panel, chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, had found in November 2022 that there was prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa abused his office, violated anti-corruption laws by failing to properly declare foreign currency, and authorised a secretive operation outside the bounds of the law.
The political landscape has shifted significantly since that 2022 vote. The ANC, which used its parliamentary majority to block the report's adoption, no longer holds that majority following the 2024 general elections, in which the party fell below 50% of the vote for the first time since 1994. The GNU arrangement that followed brings new political dynamics to any impeachment committee proceedings.
ActionSA confirmed its parliamentary team is ready to participate in whatever processes unfold, while BOSA said it would continue to stand firmly for "constitutionalism, ethical leadership, and a capable state grounded in transparency and accountability."
President Ramaphosa has consistently denied any wrongdoing in the Phala Phala matter.
karabo.ngoepe@inl.co.za