President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Political parties have said that while President Cyril Ramaphosa is fully entitled to pursue legal action against the Section 89 Independent Panel report on Phala Phala, that should not hinder Parliament’s Impeachment Committee.
After the Constitutional Court ruled that the National Assembly’s December 2022 decision to block a Section 89 inquiry into the Phala Phala scandal was unconstitutional and invalid, Ramaphosa said that he would be challenging the report.
An independent panel report had found that the president had a serious case to answer regarding his handling of the saga, which relates to the February 2020 theft of over US$580,000 allegedly hidden in furniture at his private game farm, Phala Phala.
Ramaphosa described the report as flawed and said he disagreed with its findings that there was prima facie evidence that he had violated his oath of office.
