MK PARTY JOINS FRAY TO OPPOSE RAMAPHOSA INTERDICT AS DIDIZA ABANDONS PARLIAMENT’S PHALA PHALA PROBE, COMMITTEE VOWS COURT FIGHT
- Mpho Dube
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief
The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.
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CAPE TOWN — The battle for the Phala Phala impeachment probe exploded overnight after the uMkhonto weSizwe Party confirmed it has filed papers to oppose President Cyril Ramaphosa’s urgent interdict, setting up a direct clash with National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza who has abandoned Parliament’s defence.
The MK Party, led by former President Jacob Zuma, lodged its notice to oppose at the Western Cape High Court on Sunday, 22 June 2026. The move comes 72 hours after Didiza filed a notice to abide by Ramaphosa’s application to halt the Section 89 Impeachment Committee — a decision that defied Parliament’s own legal advice and left the committee exposed.
Didiza’s surrender means the National Assembly will not fight the President in court. Zuma’s MK Party will.
Parliament’s Section 89 Impeachment Committee resolved on 18 June 2026 to formally oppose Ramaphosa’s urgent court application to halt its inquiry. Following a crucial legal briefing, the committee confirmed it will file a notice to oppose the interdict ahead of the Friday deadline.
The decision sets up a high-stakes constitutional showdown in the Western Cape High Court, scheduled for 15 and 16 July.
Committee members emphasise that they remain legally bound by the Constitutional Court’s directives until a competent court orders otherwise. The committee’s legal strategy will focus on explaining its constitutional obligations clearly to the court, protecting its institutional capacity to function independently and resisting any form of executive interference.
The committee will meet on Wednesday to consider its draft terms of reference and outline the process for appointing independent evidence leaders.
In a bid to present a unified legislative front, the committee requested that Speaker Thoko Didiza join them in defending Parliament’s constitutional mandate. She refused.
On Friday, 19 June, Didiza delivered a double blow to the impeachment process. First, she killed a proposed “fit and proper” requirement for MPs on the Section 89 Committee during a Rules Committee meeting, calling the test “subjective” with no dispute mechanism. The Democratic Alliance’s Glynnis Breytenbach said it was “deeply disconcerting” that MPs tasked with removing a sitting president “need not necessarily be fit and proper.”
Hours later, eNCA and News24 confirmed Didiza had filed to abide by Ramaphosa’s urgent interdict. The President wants to halt the impeachment inquiry pending a review of the Section 89 Independent Panel’s report, arguing the panel exceeded its mandate and relied on hearsay. Ramaphosa claims he will suffer “irreparable harm” if impeachment proceeds before the report is reviewed.
Didiza’s position undercuts the Impeachment Committee itself, which resolved last week to formally oppose Ramaphosa’s application. The committee, chaired by Makashule Gana, said it remains legally bound by Constitutional Court directives and would file its opposition before Friday’s deadline.
Now the MK Party has entered the ring.
MK Party filed its opposing papers to “defend the Constitution and Parliament’s oversight role.” The party argues that allowing Ramaphosa to interdict his own impeachment sets a dangerous precedent where no president can be held to account.
“The Speaker has abdicated. The ANC caucus is silent. If Parliament will not defend itself, the MK Party will,” the official said.
The move pits Zuma directly against Ramaphosa in the Western Cape High Court on 15 and 16 July. It also isolates Didiza, who is now at odds with both the Impeachment Committee and the third-largest party in the National Assembly.
ActionSA said the committee’s decision followed a formal letter it sent to Didiza and Impeachment Committee chairperson Makashule Gana, which urged Parliament to resist any attempts to frustrate the implementation of the Constitutional Court’s judgment on the Phala Phala matter.
ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip hailed the committee’s decision as a “victory for constitutional accountability and parliamentary independence.”
“Parliament has a constitutional duty to hold the executive accountable, to exercise oversight over the conduct of public office bearers, and to ensure that no person, regardless of their office, is placed beyond scrutiny,” Trollip stated.
“The Section 89 Committee exists precisely to determine whether the conduct of the President warrants the serious constitutional consequences contemplated by Section 89 of the Constitution. That process must be allowed to proceed without interference, delay, or political shielding.”
Trollip also aimed sharp criticism at certain political parties within the newly formed Government of National Unity. He accused them of “prevarication” and “speaking out of both sides of their mouths” by professing support for accountability while avoiding a clear position on the President’s attempt to halt the inquiry.
ActionSA has called on Didiza to ensure that the National Assembly robustly defends its constitutional powers by reflecting the committee’s opposition to the interdict. Warning against legislative complacency, Trollip reminded the Speaker that the apex court had already found Parliament failed South Africans once in its handling of the Phala Phala matter, adding that Parliament must not place itself on the wrong side of the Constitution a second time.
Didiza appears to have ignored that warning.
With Didiza standing down and Zuma stepping up, the Phala Phala scandal is no longer a parliamentary process. It is a court battle between the President, his predecessor, and a Speaker who refuses to fight.
The dollars hidden in the couches of Phala Phala will be weighed by judges. Not by MPs. Not by the Speaker.
The Azanian is tracking filings at the Western Cape High Court and will update as papers are exchanged. The Impeachment Committee meets Wednesday.
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