South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has initiated legal proceedings to challenge the independent panel’s report concerning the Phala Phala scandal. The President is seeking to have the report reviewed, declared unlawful, and ultimately set aside.
Court papers filed on Tuesday before the Western Cape High Court reveal Ramaphosa’s contention that the report, compiled by a panel led by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, contains both factual and legal flaws.
President Ramaphosa has also issued a stern warning: should Parliament proceed with an impeachment inquiry based on this report before his legal challenge is resolved, he intends to seek an interdict to halt the process.
In his founding affidavit, Ramaphosa stated, “It would be intolerable and a travesty if the National Assembly were to proceed with an impeachment process triggered by the panel’s report, at a time when a challenge to the lawfulness and validity of that report is pending.”
The independent panel had previously concluded that Ramaphosa might have committed a serious violation of the constitution. Furthermore, it suggested that his handling of the theft of foreign currency from his Phala Phala farm could have exposed him to a conflict of interest between his official presidential duties and his private business interests.
Ramaphosa’s affidavit also implies that the panel may have relied on evidence obtained illegally, specifically mentioning a confidential Namibian police report and an audio recording. He drew attention to former spy boss Arthur Fraser, whose criminal complaint initially brought the Phala Phala matter into the public spotlight.
This court challenge follows a Constitutional Court ruling earlier this month. That judgment determined that the National Assembly had acted unlawfully when it voted against adopting the panel’s report, thereby paving the way for Parliament to potentially initiate an impeachment process based on the report’s findings.
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