Ramaphosa Awaits Ruling on Bid to Halt Impeachment Inquiry
Wednesday, 22 July 2026
By Atlantic Digest Africa Desk
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is awaiting a court ruling on his urgent application to suspend Parliament’s Section 89 impeachment inquiry, with the Western Cape High Court expected to deliver judgment on Friday.
A full bench comprising Judges André le Grange, Matthew Francis and Diane Davis reserved judgment after hearing two days of legal arguments in Cape Town over whether the parliamentary process should be halted pending the outcome of a separate judicial review.
The case arises from the Phala Phala scandal, which centres on the theft of approximately 580,000 US dollars in foreign currency reportedly concealed at the President’s private game farm near Bela-Bela, Limpopo, in 2020.
An independent panel chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo previously concluded that President Ramaphosa had a case to answer regarding the affair. In May, South Africa’s Constitutional Court cleared the way for impeachment proceedings by directing Parliament to refer the panel’s findings to a Section 89 committee for further consideration.
President Ramaphosa is seeking an interim order to stop the parliamentary inquiry until the courts determine the legality of the independent panel’s report, with that review scheduled to be heard in September.
His legal team argued that allowing impeachment proceedings to continue before the review is concluded would cause irreparable reputational damage to a sitting head of state and could undermine the fairness of the legal process.
Opposition parties rejected the argument, insisting that the application is merely an attempt to delay constitutional accountability. They contended that suspending Parliament’s work would amount to judicial interference in the legislature’s constitutional responsibilities.
Meanwhile, Makashule Gana, chairman of the Section 89 committee, said preparations for the inquiry would continue unless the court orders otherwise. He disclosed that committee members are proceeding with administrative arrangements, including appointing evidence leaders, preparing witnesses and finalising procedural guidelines ahead of substantive hearings.
The outcome of Friday’s ruling is expected to determine whether Parliament can proceed with one of the most significant constitutional processes in South Africa’s democratic history while the President simultaneously challenges the underlying report in court.
Political analysts say the case will have far-reaching implications for the relationship between the judiciary, Parliament and the executive, as well as for public confidence in South Africa’s constitutional institutions.
