Breaking — Africa
By Amara Osei | May 27, 2026
JOHANNESBURG — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has launched a fresh legal bid to overturn the 2022 independent panel report that found prima facie evidence he may have committed serious misconduct in the Phala Phala farm scandal, as parliament pushes ahead with impeachment proceedings that could end his presidency.
Ramaphosa’s attorneys filed the application at the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday, seeking an order reviewing and setting aside the report compiled under Rule 129G of the National Assembly rules by a panel led by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo. The president’s legal team argues the panel “misconceived its mandate, misjudged the information placed before it and misinterpreted the four charges advanced against me.”
The scandal, dubbed “Farmgate” by South African media, dates to 2020 when $580,000 in cash — hidden beneath sofa cushions at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo province — was allegedly stolen. An independent panel assembled two years later found evidence the president may have violated his oath of office and concluded he had “a case to answer.” Ramaphosa has consistently denied any wrongdoing, saying the cash came from a legitimate sale of buffalo from his farming business.
In his founding affidavit, Ramaphosa argues the panel applied the wrong legal threshold. South Africa’s constitution allows for the president’s removal only for “intentional or malicious conduct in bad faith.” The president contends the panel instead relied on a prima facie standard that improperly weighted hearsay evidence. “Save for the limited evidence I introduced in my response, there was no evidence before the Panel,” the affidavit states.
The legal challenge comes after a landmark Constitutional Court ruling earlier this year found that parliament acted unconstitutionally in 2022 when it voted against establishing an impeachment inquiry into the Phala Phala findings. At the time, Ramaphosa’s African National Congress held a commanding parliamentary majority and blocked the proceedings. But since the 2024 general election, the ANC has lost its majority and now governs as part of a coalition — changing the political calculus entirely.
National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza has already constituted an impeachment committee of 31 MPs from 16 political parties, including nine from the ANC — a dramatic shift from 2022 when ANC MPs voted as a bloc against impeachment. The committee is tasked with deciding whether sufficient grounds exist to move forward with formal impeachment proceedings against the president.
Political observers say Ramaphosa’s legal gambit is high-risk. Even if the court rules in his favour, the political damage from the proceedings has already destabilised his coalition government. The president said in his court submission: “I do not make this application lightly.”
South Africa has strict rules on holding foreign currency, requiring that foreign cash be deposited with an authorised dealer within 30 days. The failure to declare the Phala Phala payment — and questions over whether it was properly taxed — remain central to the allegations against him.
The case is expected to be heard within weeks. If the High Court dismisses Ramaphosa’s application, the impeachment committee will proceed, potentially setting South Africa on course for its first-ever removal of a sitting president through parliamentary impeachment.
