South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has filed an urgent court application seeking to halt parliamentary impeachment proceedings linked to the "Farmgate" scandal, arguing that the process should not move forward while a separate legal challenge remains before the courts.

The application, filed at the Western Cape High Court, seeks an order preventing the National Assembly and its impeachment committee from commencing proceedings until a review application challenging earlier misconduct findings against the president has been determined.

The move comes weeks after the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that Parliament must establish an impeachment committee and proceed with an inquiry, unless a court orders otherwise.

At the center of the dispute is the "Farmgate" controversy, which emerged after a large sum of cash was stolen from Ramaphosa's Phala Phala farm in 2020. 

In his latest application, the president argues that the impeachment process should be suspended until the High Court rules on his bid to overturn findings by an independent parliamentary panel that concluded there may be grounds to investigate him for potential misconduct.

The respondents cited in the application include the Speaker of the National Assembly, the chairperson of the impeachment committee, the Economic Freedom Fighters, the African Transformation Movement and party leader Vuyo Zungula.

The High Court is expected to hear Ramaphosa's review application against the panel's findings in early September. 

A ruling on the urgent application could determine whether Parliament's impeachment inquiry proceeds as scheduled or is delayed pending the outcome of the broader legal challenge.