President Cyril Ramaphosa says he respects the Constitutional Court ruling on the Phala Phala matter.
THE Constitutional Court did not merely revive Section 89 but appeared to constitutionalise accountability itself in its recent judgment in the Economic Freedom Fighters and Another v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others matter.
However, the game‑changer was when Chief Justice Mandisa Maya said: “…its recommendation that a section 89 inquiry be proceeded with must be implemented through a referral to an Impeachment Committee, unless and until the report is set aside on review.” That changes the entire legal terrain.
It means that a review application by President Cyril Ramaphosa does not automatically stop the impeachment process; political discomfort cannot suspend constitutional accountability; and Parliament can no longer use procedural manoeuvres to avoid confronting allegations against a sitting President.
An interdict may still be attempted because courts retain power to grant interim relief, but the threshold is now extraordinarily high. This is so because any court granting such an interdict would effectively be suspending a live Constitutional Court‑directed accountability process.
