A South African court ruled on Friday in favour of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s bid to pause impeachment proceedings against him over a scandal involving half-a-million dollars stashed in a sofa at his ranch.
Ramaphosa asked the Western Cape High Court to stop the work of a parliamentary impeachment committee until his review of a November 2022 report that found he “may have committed” serious violations and misconduct.
Ramaphosa has denied any wrongdoing and ruled out resigning over the incident since the allegedly undeclared stash of foreign currency came to light after it was reported stolen in 2020.
“Pending the determination by this court of the applicant’s review… respondents are interdicted from proceeding with a public impeachment hearing,” Judge Andre le Grange announced.
Ramaphosa is accused of hiding from police and tax authorities a 2020 break-in and theft of $580,000 at his luxury Phala Phala farmhouse in the northern Limpopo province.
