PHALA PHALA HEADS TO CONCOURT AS ANC LOSES 15-13 VOTE

Impeachment committee appeals High Court interdict halting Ramaphosa probe

President Cyril Ramaphosa is under the microscope from opposition parties who are gunning for him to relinquish power before his term of office ends.

By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief

The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.  

AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact

The parliamentary committee probing the Phala Phala scandal will now take President Cyril Ramaphosa to the Constitutional Court, after opposition parties outvoted the ANC 15-13 in a heated meeting that laid bare Parliament’s deep divisions.

The committee, chaired by Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana, met for three hours on Wednesday but failed to appoint an evidence leader or adopt terms of reference. Instead, it resolved to appeal the Western Cape High Court order that halted public hearings into the President.

The process was revived in May when the Constitutional Court referred the Section 89 Independent Panel report to Parliament. The panel, led by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo with Judge Thokozile Masipa and Adv Mahlape Sello SC, found Ramaphosa may have a prima facie case to answer over the 2020 theft at his Phala Phala farm.

Ramaphosa responded by launching a review of the report and seeking an urgent interdict to stop the committee from holding public hearings while the review is pending. On Friday, the Western Cape High Court granted that interdict. The review is set down for early September in the Constitutional Court.

The Azanian understands the committee held two votes. The ANC lost both.

The decisive vote was on whether to appeal the interdict. 15 MPs voted yes, including ACDP, ATM, EFF, MKP, UAT, BOSA, UDM and ActionSA. ACDP MP Steve Swart argued the ruling was “precedent-setting and would impact all future impeachments.”

13 voted no. The ANC led that bloc, arguing it was not under pressure to appeal. FF Plus and IFP also opposed the appeal. DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach backed the appeal, saying the ruling “encroached on Parliament in a way that might be unacceptable going forward.”

Confirming the outcome, Gana said: “So, we are going to file a notice as the Committee to appeal to the Constitutional Court. That’s what we are going to do.”

The ANC pushed to delay. It wanted the Ngcobo panel to appear before MPs and asked to “seek our own legal advice on that legal advice,” as ANC MP Mikateko Mahlaule put it.

“It would be very difficult to consider the report without hearing from the panel,” said ANC MP Faith Muthambi.  

“Let us delay a decision on this,” moved ANC MP Cameron Dugmore.

That was rejected.  

“This is just a cheap delaying tactic that you must be embarrassed of,” said EFF leader Julius Malema.  

“I had expected these delaying tactics, but I didn’t think it would be so low,” said UAT leader Wonderboy Mahlatsi.

The committee also decided it will not call the authors of the Section 89 panel to give oral evidence. Gana said legal advice was that evidence leaders would lead MPs through the report instead.

Alongside the committee’s appeal, ATM, EFF, MKP and UAT have approached the ConCourt directly, arguing the High Court order “improperly halted Parliament’s constitutional accountability function and could create a dangerous precedent in which presidents could avoid impeachment proceedings.”

With no evidence leader appointed and legal arguments now set for September, the Phala Phala probe risks being decided in court, not in Parliament.