Inside Parliament's next steps in the Ramaphosa Phala Phala inquiry

South Africa’s Parliament has released the names of the 31 Members of Parliament (MPs) who will serve on the Section 89 committee investigating whether President Cyril Ramaphosa should face impeachment over the Phala Phala scandal, setting the stage for the next phase of the inquiry.

Section 89 of South Africa’s Constitution sets out the process for removing a president from office.

It states that the National Assembly can remove the president if MPs find that they have committed a serious violation of the Constitution or the law, engaged in serious misconduct, or are unable to perform the functions of office.

The committee was established after the Constitutional Court ruled earlier this month that Parliament acted unlawfully when it blocked impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa in 2022.

Political parties were subsequently instructed to nominate representatives before the deadline expired.

Among those appointed to the committee are Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema, uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) parliamentary leader John Hlophe, and Build One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane.

The African National Congress (ANC) holds the largest share of seats on the committee, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA).

The GOOD Party and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) will not be represented on the impeachment committee.

“A statement from Parliament said: ‘Two political parties, namely GOOD and the PAC, indicated that they will not participate in the committee, as each party has only one Member of Parliament who also serves in the Executive.’”

The impeachment process centres on the 2020 theft of foreign currency that had been hidden inside furniture at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo. The money was allegedly stolen during a burglary at the property.

Questions were later raised over the source of the cash, whether it had been properly declared, and whether state institutions were bypassed in the handling of the theft.

Ramaphosa has denied wrongdoing and maintains that the money came from the sale of buffalo to a Sudanese businessman.

An independent parliamentary panel in 2022 found that there may be prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa violated the Constitution and committed serious misconduct, paving the way for possible impeachment proceedings. Parliament, however, voted against proceeding with the inquiry at the time.

That decision was later overturned this month when the Constitutional Court ruled that the National Assembly had failed to properly exercise its constitutional obligations.

The next steps

The newly formed committee is now expected to begin the next phase of the process. Its first task will be to formally convene and adopt procedures governing the inquiry.

While Parliament already has Section 89 rules, aspects of the Constitutional Court judgment have been referred to Parliament’s Rules Committee for possible clarification and amendment.

The committee will then investigate whether Ramaphosa committed a serious violation of the Constitution or serious misconduct — the constitutional threshold required for impeachment. MPs on the committee will have the power to summon witnesses, request documents, and hear evidence linked to the scandal.

Ramaphosa will also be entitled to respond to the allegations and present evidence in his defence.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa has launched a legal challenge seeking to overturn the 2022 independent panel report. In court papers, he argued that the 2022 report was "seriously flawed" and should be set aside, as the panel misunderstood its mandate and relied on hearsay evidence.

He is also seeking to halt the impeachment process pending the outcome of the case.

Once the inquiry is completed, the committee will submit a report to the National Assembly recommending whether impeachment proceedings should proceed.

Any attempt to remove Ramaphosa from office would require the support of at least two-thirds of MPs in Parliament.

The ANC has reiterated its support for Ramaphosa, increasing the likelihood that he will remain in power.