By Johnathan Paoli
President Cyril Ramaphosa says he respects the Constitutional Court’s decision to reopen the Phala Phala matter, insisting that no one is above the law and pledging full cooperation with any further parliamentary process.
In a statement issued by the Presidency on Friday, spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said Ramaphosa had noted the landmark judgment and urged South Africans to respect the country’s judicial institutions.
“President Ramaphosa maintains that no person is above the law and that any allegations should be subjected to due process without fear, favour or prejudice. The President calls on all South Africans to respect the Constitutional Court judgment and all judicial institutions,” Magwenya said.
He said Ramaphosa had consistently cooperated with investigations into the Phala Phala scandal and remained committed to upholding the Constitution.
The ruling triggered celebrations among opposition parties, with the EFF leading calls for Parliament to urgently establish an impeachment committee to investigate the president.
In a unanimous judgment, the apex court ruled that Parliament’s decision on 13 December 2022 to reject the Section 89 panel report into Phala Phala was unconstitutional and invalid. The court also declared National Assembly Rule 129I unconstitutional and ordered that the report be referred to Parliament’s impeachment committee.
Speaking outside court, EFF leader Julius Malema accused the ANC of previously using its parliamentary majority to shield Ramaphosa from accountability.
“People use their majority to become unreasonable. And that’s why we are saying, and that’s what we’ve been saying throughout even under President Zuma, every decision must meet the rationality test,” Malema said.
He said the ANC had ignored findings by the independent Section 89 panel, chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, which found prima facie evidence of wrongdoing by Ramaphosa.
“How do you say the panel says with the former chief justice there is prima facie evidence of wrongdoing here, and then you say we can use majority to suppress corruption? They must be ashamed of themselves,” he said.
Malema said the EFF had already moved to compel Parliament to comply with the ruling. He revealed that EFF chief whip Nontando Nolutshungu had written to National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza requesting the immediate establishment of an impeachment committee.
“The impeachment process must kick in with immediate effect. We’ve been waiting for too long now,” Malema said.
“If we had a responsible president, he should be resigning. You cannot have a president who’s preparing for an impeachment process this side and then occupying the office of the president at the same time,” he added.
Malema said the EFF intended using the impeachment inquiry to scrutinise every aspect of the Phala Phala burglary scandal, including allegations involving undeclared foreign currency allegedly concealed at Ramaphosa’s Limpopo farm.
“We want evidence of the 20 buffaloes that left this country. We want evidence of the men who came to buy buffaloes when entering the country and leaving the country. We want to see a declaration of those dollars,” he said.
The African Transformation Movement (ATM), which jointly challenged Parliament’s handling of the matter alongside the EFF, also welcomed the ruling.
ATM leader Vuyo Zungula said the judgment vindicated opposition parties that had challenged the National Assembly’s conduct.
“This victory belongs to the people of South Africa because it is the people that need to be protected from Parliament taking wrong decisions. This is not just a case of the EFF and ATM versus Cyril Ramaphosa, but it is about our democratic order in our country whereby the rule of law is supreme,” Zungula said.
He said the matter had dragged on for years despite serious allegations against the president.
“We sit here with a tainted president who, in this particular report, paints a picture of serious violation of the Constitution, serious misconduct,” he said.
ATM spokesperson Zama Ntshona said the ruling had “restored the accountability process required by our constitutional order”.
“Parliament may not use procedure to shield power from constitutional scrutiny,” the party said.
The DA said it would study the judgment carefully while participating fully in any impeachment proceedings.
DA federal chairperson Solly Msimanga said the party would not shield wrongdoing if evidence emerged against the president.
“The DA is not going to protect any criminality if there is criminality that is actually then ultimately found. Wrongdoing is not something that the DA is going to protect by any means,” he said.
DA federal leader Geordin Hill-Lewis described the ruling as “a grave moment for Parliament, for the Presidency, and for South Africa’s constitutional democracy”.
“We will not prejudge the outcome. But nor will we allow any person, no matter how high their office, to be placed above accountability,” he said.
ActionSA parliamentary leader Michael Beaumont called the ruling “a victory for the South African people”.
“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,” Beaumont said.
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party also intensified its attacks on Ramaphosa following the ruling.
MKP spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said the president now had serious questions to answer before Parliament.
“We have a sitting president who has to now answer to Parliament, and who has found with money on his farm. This man must actually be locked up, even Phala Phala must be confiscated by the state,” he said.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri told the SABC that the governing party respected the judgment and would carefully study its implications.
“One of the things that I want to emphasise to the people of our country is that the ANC has always been at the centre of advocating for the support of the rule of law, institutions and the Bill of Rights. And at this point in history, we are not going to back down on that,” she said.
Bhengu-Motsiri said the ANC continued to have confidence in Ramaphosa while pledging to follow the law.
“We continue to have confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa, but we are going to follow the law to the full letter. If it does happen, it would have a very slim fit considering the calibre of the president that South Africa has at this point in time,” she said.
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