EFF seeks ConCourt bid to revive Ramaphosa impeachment
· The South African
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has asked the Constitutional Court to revive Parliament’s impeachment process against President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The party filed an urgent application on Tuesday. It wants the apex court to overturn a Western Cape High Court ruling that stopped Parliament from holding public impeachment hearings while Ramaphosa challenges the process.
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How did the case start?
The dispute stems from the Section 89 impeachment process.
In 2022, an independent panel found there was prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have committed serious violations of the Constitution and the law in connection with the 2020 Phala Phala farm burglary.
The panel did not find the President guilty. Instead, it recommended that Parliament establish an impeachment committee to investigate the matter further.
The National Assembly later voted against adopting the panel’s report. That decision ended the impeachment process.
Opposition parties challenged the vote in court. In May this year, the Constitutional Court ruled that Parliament had acted unlawfully. It ordered the Speaker to refer the panel report to Parliament’s impeachment committee so the Section 89 process could continue.
Why did the process stop?
Ramaphosa then launched a review application in the Western Cape High Court. He challenged the Constitutional Court’s referral of the panel report.
The High Court later granted an interim interdict. The order stopped Parliament from holding public impeachment hearings until the review application is decided.
The impeachment committee may not continue with public hearings while that order remains in force.
What does the EFF want?
The EFF argues that the High Court’s order prevents Parliament from carrying out one of its core constitutional duties.
The party wants the Constitutional Court to hear the matter urgently. It also wants to join the case as a co-applicant alongside African Transformation Movement leader Vuyo Zungula and the ATM. Finally, it wants the High Court’s order overturned.
EFF leader Julius Malema says Parliament should continue holding the President accountable while the review case runs its course.
The party further suggests that the independent panel report remains legally valid until a court sets it aside. It says Parliament should therefore continue with the impeachment process.
Why does it matter?
The EFF says the case reaches beyond Ramaphosa.
It argues that the Constitutional Court must decide whether courts can stop Parliament from exercising its constitutional oversight powers before a review application is finalised.
The party also warns that the High Court’s ruling could allow future presidents and other public office-bearers to delay impeachment proceedings by filing review applications.
The Constitutional Court must now decide whether it will hear the appeal. If it does, the judges will determine whether Parliament can resume the impeachment process while Ramaphosa’s review application continues.