Parliament’s Phala Phala impeachment committee, tasked with reviewing allegations against President Cyril Ramaphosa, has drawn criticism from the MK Party over the appointment of Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana as chair.
Image: File picture
The MK Party has opposed the appointment of Rise Mzansi Member of Parliament (MP) Makashule Gana as chairperson of the parliamentary Phala Phala impeachment committee, with parliamentary leader John Hlophe saying the party does not believe the process will be independent.
This comes after Gana was elected chairperson of Parliament’s Phala Phala Impeachment Committee on Monday, securing 19 votes against ATM MP Dr Wonderboy Mahlatsi, who received 12.
The election took place during the committee’s first meeting, which was convened to elect its chairperson.
ANC MP Mikateko Mahlaule nominated Gana for the position, while EFF MP Omphile Maotwe nominated Mahlatsi.
Gana’s nomination was supported by the ANC, DA, Patriotic Alliance (PA), and Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), while the EFF, MK Party, ActionSA, National Coloured Congress (NCC), Build One South Africa (BOSA), ATM, and United Traditional Alliance (UTA) opposed it.
Mahlatsi received backing from the EFF, MK Party, ActionSA, BOSA, ATM, and UTA, while the ANC, DA, FF Plus, and PA voted against his nomination.
Parliament’s newly established 31-member committee will reassess the Phala Phala report and scrutinise allegations against President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The committee was established following a Constitutional Court judgment directing Parliament to determine whether sufficient grounds exist to recommend Ramaphosa’s removal from office over the theft of more than $580,000 from his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in 2020.
Speaking on the sidelines of the committee on Monday, Hlophe said the MK Party was disappointed with the outcome, arguing that it fell short of expectations for an impartial process.
“As the MK party, we are hugely disappointed. The outcome of this is not what we expected,” Hlophe said.
He questioned the independence of Rise Mzansi, claiming it was aligned with the ANC and was being used to advance political outcomes.
“Basically, we have Rise Mzansi, which is a project of the ANC. Rise Mzansi is basically presiding over these proceedings. They are using Rise Mzansi to achieve that which they could not achieve,” he said.
Hlophe said the party believed the committee should be chaired by an independent person and did not regard Gana as impartial.
“As far as we are concerned, in order for the process to have any credibility, it must be chaired by an independent person, and we do not believe with due respect that Honourable Gana is independent,” he said.
He further alleged that Gana’s conduct in Parliament had shown alignment with the ANC, pointing to his interactions during the vote process.
“In fact, if you look at what happened, we did not vote for him. He did not even come to our side to shake hands with us.
''He shook hands with the ANC and the DA and all other people who voted for him. That's a clear sign that the circus is about to begin. As far as we are concerned in the MK party, we do not want the ANC to cover up again,” Hlophe said.
Hlophe also linked his concerns to what he described as past political interference, saying the MK Party believed the ANC had previously acted to protect Ramaphosa.
“We are where we are today because the ANC tried to protect Ramaphosa,” he said.
He accused the Democratic Alliance of misleading opposition parties during earlier discussions on the matter, saying the MK Party felt undermined in the process.
He added that the party remained concerned about political influence in parliamentary processes, saying it had observed patterns it believed reflected bias in how committees and decisions are handled.
“We have been in Parliament for two years, and we have witnessed how Mr Gana operates. He has never voted against the ANC on any issue, be it committees or plenary sessions,” Hlophe said.
He said the MK Party believed the process lacked objectivity and warned against what it sees as attempts to shield the executive from accountability.
“This has been declared irrational, unlawful, and unconscionable,” Hlophe said.
Meanwhile, ActionSA Parliamentary Chief Whip Lerato Ngobeni said the party voted against the ANC-sponsored GNU candidate for chairperson of the Phala Phala impeachment committee, arguing that the process required an opposition-led chair to safeguard independence.
Ngobeni said the committee, which will determine whether there are grounds for the removal of a sitting president, must be credible and enjoy public confidence.
She said ActionSA’s stance was based on principle rather than individual candidates, emphasising the need for independence from the executive.
“Our position was never about any individual candidate, but rather the constitutional principle that accountability processes must be demonstrably independent from those with a direct interest in the continuation of the current administration,” Ngobeni said.
She warned that the appointment of a politically aligned chairperson could undermine public trust in one of Parliament’s key accountability mechanisms.
Ngobeni said Parliament could not afford a repeat of past failures where such processes were perceived as protecting executive authority rather than subjecting it to scrutiny.
She added that ActionSA would continue participating constructively in the committee’s work to ensure it fulfils its constitutional mandate.
“The ultimate test before Parliament is not whether it can protect a President, but whether it can uphold the Constitution and demonstrate that no office bearer is beyond accountability,” she said.
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