Overview
- The Constitutional Court, which will deliver judgment at 10am on Friday, will decide whether the National Assembly acted lawfully when it voted in 2022 to reject a Section 89 report on alleged foreign cash theft at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm.
- Section 89 sets out the impeachment process, and an independent panel led by retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo found there was enough evidence to warrant a full inquiry after about $580,000 in cash was said to have been hidden in a sofa and then stolen.
- The National Assembly halted the process by voting 214 to 148 to dismiss the panel’s report, prompting the EFF and ATM to ask the court to strike down the rule used and to order Parliament to revive the inquiry.
- Parliament defends its move by pointing to Rule 129, which it says gives the Assembly discretion on how to handle panel findings, and it argues that court oversight of that choice would breach separation of powers.
- A ruling against Parliament could force a fresh process in a House where the ANC no longer holds a majority after 2024, while a ruling for Parliament would leave the 2022 rejection in place.