South Africa's Constitutional Court on Friday ruled that the National Assembly's decision to block the Phala Phala report was unconstitutional, a move that revives impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The case relates to allegations made by former intelligence boss Arthur Fraser that Ramaphosa tried to cover up the theft of an estimated $4 million in foreign currency stashed in furniture at his Phala Phala game farm in 2020.

Ramaphosa admitted there had been a break-in, but said the thieves only stole $580,000, which he said were proceeds from the sale of buffaloes. He denied wrongdoing and was never charged with a crime, but an independent panel found evidence that he may have committed misconduct.

The Section 89 report, which was tabled before Parliament in December 2022, found Ramaphosa may have violated his oath of office and the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act.

However, the report was not adopted by Parliament, with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) using its majority in the house to vote against it.

The Constitutional Court said the vote was unconstitutional and set it aside, further ordering that the report be referred to an impeachment committee.

"It is declared that the vote of the National Assembly taken on 13 December 2022, declining to refer the report of the independent panel to an impeachment committee as envisaged in the NA (National Assembly) rules, is inconsistent with the Constitution, invalid, and is set aside. The report of the independent panel is referred to the impeachment committee established in terms of the NA rules," Chief Justice Mandisa Maya said while handing down the ruling.

The case was brought by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the African Transformation Movement (ATM), arguing that Parliament failed to hold the president accountable after a Section 89 panel found that he may have breached his oath of office.

Following the court's ruling, EFF leader Julius Malema called for the impeachment process against Ramaphosa to kick in with immediate effect.

"We cannot wait any longer; we have been waiting for too long now. The impeachment process must kick in with immediate effect, and that's what we are going to demand," Malema said.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA), the main partner in the Government of National Unity, said in a statement that it would participate fully in the impeachment committee and not prejudge its outcome.

"No one should expect the DA to shield wrongdoing. We will never be party to protecting misconduct, covering up corruption, or weakening accountability for political convenience," the party said.

"The impeachment committee must now do its work properly, rationally, fairly and constitutionally. The President must have the opportunity to account fully."