By Inside Politics Reporter
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of attempting to “hide behind court proceedings” to delay and avoid accountability following the Constitutional Court’s ruling that Parliament’s 2022 vote on the Phala Phala report was unconstitutional and invalid.
In a statement, the EFF said Ramaphosa’s renewed consideration of a judicial review of the Section 89 Independent Panel Report demonstrated a “profound disrespect not only for Parliament, but also for the judiciary and the constitutional order itself.”
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The party’s statement follows reports that Ramaphosa intends to challenge the findings of the Section 89 panel chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, which found prima facie evidence that the President may have violated the Constitution and his oath of office.
The EFF said Ramaphosa’s legal maneuvers exposed him as “a constitutional delinquent who has never sought genuine judicial clarity on the merits of the report but has instead relied on political manipulation and procedural delay to evade accountability.”
The EFF statement argued that if Ramaphosa truly believed the panel’s findings were defective or irrational, he would have pursued his 2022 review application to finality. Instead, the president opportunistically withdrew the matter once he believed the ANC’s parliamentary majority had permanently buried the report.
The Constitutional Court’s May 2026 judgment declared the December 2022 parliamentary vote invalid with a ruling that the ANC’s use of its majority to block the report’s adoption was unconstitutional.
The decision effectively reactivates the Section 89 panel’s findings and compels Parliament to establish an impeachment committee.
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The EFF contends that Ramaphosa’s renewed review bid is a repeat of his earlier strategy to stall accountability.
“Now that the Constitutional Court has correctly declared that the parliamentary vote was unconstitutional and invalid, Ramaphosa is contemplating a review application once again, in order to hide behind court proceedings and to delay, frustrate, and ultimately avoid the inevitable impeachment inquiry,” the EFF said.
The party said the courts should “dismiss with contempt” any renewed attempt by Ramaphosa to litigate against the Section 89 report nearly four years after its publication.
The party maintained the Constitutional Court had already “restored constitutional order by invalidating the ANC’s unlawful parliamentary protection racket.”
“The next step must be the immediate establishment of the impeachment inquiry contemplated by Section 89 of the Constitution.”
