Cape Town — South Africa’s Parliament has formally reinstated impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa, a dramatic escalation triggered by the Constitutional Court’s landmark ruling last week.
South Africa’s Parliament announced on May 11 that it will establish an impeachment committee to re-investigate President Cyril Ramaphosa regarding the 2022 “Farmgate” scandal, following a landmark constitutional court ruling that found the previous blockage of impeachment proceedings by the ruling ANC party was unconstitutional.
Constitutional Court Opens the Door
The Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled on May 8 that the ANC party’s earlier blocking of impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa was unconstitutional. The ruling was a direct rebuke of the political maneuver that had shielded the president from parliamentary scrutiny and forced Parliament to revisit the matter.
Parliament’s decision to establish a dedicated impeachment committee marks a historic moment in South Africa’s young democracy. It is the first time the country’s highest court has directly ordered legislative action on a sitting president’s fitness to hold office, setting a precedent that legal scholars say will reshape the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches for years to come.
The ANC, which has governed South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994, had previously used its majority in Parliament to block moves to impeach Ramaphosa over allegations that he failed to disclose a cash donation he received for his private game farm. Critics have long accused the party of weaponising its parliamentary supermajority to shield its own leader from accountability.
“This ruling affirms that no one — not even a president — is above the law. Parliament must now act, and it must act decisively,” said a senior opposition figure who has led calls for accountability since the scandal first erupted.
The Farmgate Scandal Explained
The scandal centres on allegations that Ramaphosa concealed a $500,000 donation he received from a wealthy businessman, Chad le Clos, for his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo province. The money was reportedly hidden in a sofa, according to testimony from a former security guard — an image that became emblematic of the alleged cover-up.
Ramaphosa has consistently denied any wrongdoing, insisting the transaction was a legitimate sale of game and that he committed no crime. His legal team has argued that the donation was a private matter and that he acted within the law at all times. The president maintains he is the victim of a politically motivated campaign to oust him ahead of the 2027 general election.
The allegations first came to light in 2022, when a whistleblower leaked documents suggesting Ramaphosa had misled Parliament about the source and nature of the funds. The subsequent scandal paralysed his presidency and contributed to a significant decline in his approval ratings, which have only partially recovered in the intervening years.
ANC’s Difficult Position
The ANC finds itself in an acutely uncomfortable position. Its own constitutional court — stacked with appointments made during the party’s decades-long dominance of South African institutions — has delivered a ruling that directly challenges the party’s strategy of protecting its leader at all costs.
Party insiders say the leadership is divided over how to respond. A faction aligned with Deputy President Paul Mashatile has called for Ramaphosa to voluntarily step aside while the investigation proceeds, arguing that any prolonged uncertainty will devastate the ANC’s electoral prospects in 2027. Another faction, loyal to Ramaphosa, insists the president has done nothing wrong and that the impeachment process is a politically motivated witch hunt.
The timing is particularly delicate. South Africa is already grappling with a stagnant economy, record unemployment exceeding 30 percent, and a mounting energy crisis that has seen repeated bouts of load-shedding across the country. Political instability at the top, party sources say, could further deter the foreign investment the country desperately needs to reverse its economic decline.
“The ANC’s legitimacy is directly tied to whether it upholds the very constitutional values it championed during the struggle against apartheid. This moment will define the party’s identity for a generation,” said Dr. Mcebisi Skwatsha, a former provincial minister and senior ANC member who has publicly broken with the party line on the issue.
What Happens Next
The newly formed parliamentary impeachment committee will have wide-ranging powers to summon witnesses, compel the production of documents, and hear testimony under oath. Legal analysts expect the inquiry to take several months, with a final report due to be presented to the full Parliament for a vote.
Under South Africa’s Constitution, a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly is required to impeach a president. The ANC holds just over 57 percent of seats, meaning it would need the support of opposition parties to reach that threshold — a scenario that seemed unthinkable just months ago but is now being actively discussed in coalition negotiations.
The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s largest opposition party, has already indicated it will support impeachment proceedings, though it stopped short of committing to an outright vote against Ramaphosa until the committee’s findings are known. The Economic Freedom Fighters, a radical left party, called the Constitutional Court ruling “a victory for the people of South Africa” and demanded the swift removal of the president.
Ramaphosa is expected to address the nation later this week. His office released a brief statement on Monday saying the president “respects the ruling of the Constitutional Court and will cooperate fully with Parliament’s constitutional obligations.”
Rachel Torres is a political correspondent for Media Hook covering sub-Saharan Africa and global governance. She is based in Johannesburg.
Key Background:
The Farmgate scandal centres on allegations that Ramaphosa concealed the theft of millions from his Phala Phala game farm.
