Rise Mzansi parliamentarian Makashule Gana (left) was elected as the Chairperson of Parliament's Section 89 Impeachment Committee on June 01. If public opinion regards Ramaphosa’s impeachment as a threat to the GNU, then the decision becomes immensely complicated, says the writer.
Prof. Dirk Kotzé
The latest impeachment developments targeted at President Ramaphosa take one invariably back to the situations of Presidents Mbeki and Zuma. Over the past 32 years, only President Mandela’s term of office was not threatened by a premature termination.
Mbeki was recalled by the ANC’s NEC and then resigned as national president. Zuma resigned immediately before his parliamentary impeachment process could commence after numerous failed motions of no confidence. In both instances, it happened when they were no longer the ANC President but only the national President.
The current situation is different: Ramaphosa is both ANC and national President. No motions of no confidence have been tabled against him. The impeachment initiative is managed by the ATM and EFF parties and does not come from within the ANC.
