South Africa President Wins Temporary Halt on Farmgate Impeachment Inquiry
South African court ruling temporarily stops parliamentary investigations into the Farmgate scandal involving President Cyril Raméphosa.
In 2020, burglars broke into President Raméphosa’s private farm, Phala Phala, in Limpopo province, stealing roughly
$580,000 that had been hidden in a sofa. The theft only surfaced two years later when former spy chief Arthur Fraser released a dossier that raised questions about the president’s handling of the incident.
An independent panel reported in 2022 that Raméphosa might face impeachment. The president denied any wrongdoing. Parliament first voted against initiating an impeachment inquiry, but a May ruling by the Constitutional Court declared the shelving of the panel’s report unlawful, effectively clearing the way for the parliamentary process to resume.
Raméphosa has now filed a separate court case against the panel’s findings, arguing that it misinterpreted the evidence and the four charges against him. The Western Cape High Court, led by Judge Andre le Grange, halted the parliamentary committee from proceeding with its hearings pending the outcome of Raméphosa’s case.
The move is seen as a win for the president, who hopes the court will allow him to defend his record before a parliamentary body could decide on impeachment. The Constitutional Court’s May decision had already reshaped the composition of Parliament, with the African National Congress no longer holding a majority after the 2024 elections and governing as part of a coalition.
Additional reporting by Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg.
Image source: Bloomberg via Getty Images
