The Constitutional Court’s refusal to urgently hear the African Transformation Movement’s (ATM) challenge to the suspension of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s impeachment proceedings has sparked a fresh political and constitutional row, with the ATM and MK Party questioning the impact of the ruling on accountability, while political analysts warn that the process could be dragged out until Ramaphosa leaves office.
The apex court yesterday rejected the ATM’s bid to appeal directly against a Western Cape High Court order suspending public hearings by Parliament’s Impeachment Committee pending the outcome of Ramaphosa’s review application.
The Western Cape High Court last month barred the Impeachment Committee from holding public hearings until Ramaphosa’s review application, which seeks to overturn the Independent Panel’s report finding that he had a case to answer, has been finalised.
In its ruling, the Constitutional Court said the outcome of Ramaphosa’s review application could make the interim interdict moot and found that it was not in the interests of justice to hear the matter at this stage, given the imminent determination of the review application in the Western Cape Division of the High Court.
