South Africa’s Western Cape High Court is set to hear President Cyril Ramaphosa’s application seeking to suspend Parliament’s impeachment inquiry into his conduct over the Phala Phala farm cash theft scandal.
The hearing, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, will involve Makashule Gana, chairperson of Parliament’s Section 89 Impeachment Committee, who has been cited as the second respondent in the case.
Ramaphosa filed the urgent court application in June, arguing that the inquiry should be halted while he challenges the findings of an independent panel that identified prima facie evidence of possible serious misconduct linked to the matter.
The controversy stems from the alleged theft of about US$580,000 in cash from Ramaphosa’s private game farm in Limpopo Province in 2020, raising questions over whether the funds were properly declared. The Impeachment Committee has said it will oppose the president’s legal bid to stop the process.