South Africa’s Constitutional Court Revives Impeachment Proceedings Against President Ramaphosa

South Africa’s Constitutional Court has revived impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa, ruling on Friday that parliament acted unlawfully when it blocked the process back in 2022.

The ruling stems from the “Farmgate” scandal, which nearly brought down Ramaphosa when it erupted in 2022 after an independent panel found evidence he may have committed misconduct.

Ramaphosa denied wrongdoing and was never charged with a crime.

His party, the African National Congress (ANC), rallied around him at the time, using its parliamentary majority to prevent an impeachment process from being launched.

The scandal centred on allegations by a former intelligence official that Ramaphosa tried to cover up the theft of about $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 claimed were proceeds from the sale of buffaloes.

It was the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) that approached the country’s highest court in 2024, arguing parliament had acted unlawfully by failing to hold Ramaphosa to account.

Following the court’s ruling, the ANC’s main coalition partner, the Democratic Alliance (DA), said it would participate fully in the impeachment committee and would not prejudge its outcome.

Ramaphosa has governed South Africa in a broad coalition since the ANC lost its parliamentary majority in the 2024 elections.