The first meeting of parliament’s impeachment committee investigating President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala matter will dominate the political agenda this week as parties battle over who should chair the highly contested process.The 31-member committee is scheduled to sit for the first time on Monday after last month’s Constitutional Court ruling that parliament acted irrationally when it blocked impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa in 2022. The court ordered parliament to restart the process through a parliamentary inquiry. Monday’s sitting is expected to focus on the election of a chair, with negotiations intensifying among parties over who should oversee proceedings. Smaller opposition parties represented on the committee have been lobbying for the chair to come from outside the ANC and DA, arguing that the two largest parties in the government of national unity would struggle to demonstrate impartiality in a process involving the president.The ANC and DA together hold 14 seats on the committee. Ramaphosa has denied wrongdoing and has separately challenged the findings of an independent parliamentary panel, which concluded there may be grounds for impeachment proceedings. The ANC has publicly reaffirmed its support for Ramaphosa, saying the party is preparing to politically defend the president as the inquiry unfolds. Kenyan President William Ruto at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya, on May 10 2026. Picture: (Thomas Mukoya) On the diplomatic front, Kenya’s President William Ruto will undertake a state visit to South Africa on Wednesday and Thursday. He is expected to hold talks with Ramaphosa and participate in a business forum bringing together political and corporate leaders from the two countries.The visit comes as Pretoria and Nairobi seek stronger trade and investment ties under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework, with discussions expected to focus on logistics, financial services, infrastructure and digital commerce.“Total trade between South Africa and Kenya increased from R9.3bn in 2016 to R10.5bn in 2025, registering an average growth rate of 3.5% over the period 2016 to 2025. Strategic sectors targeted for the forum are finance and technology, agriculture and agribusiness, manufacturing, and infrastructure development,” the trade, industry & competition department said. Attention will also be on the Johannesburg high court, where the MP party’s challenge against the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) is expected to continue this week.The party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, alleges the 2024 general election was rigged and has questioned the credibility of the vote counting and result management process. The IEC has rejected the claims and defended the integrity of the election outcome, which resulted in the ANC losing its outright parliamentary majority.