A South African court has temporarily halted impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa over the controversial $580,000 cash scandal linked to his Phala Phala farm, giving the president a legal victory as he challenges the case in court.
The ruling was delivered on Friday by the Western Cape High Court, which granted Ramaphosa’s request to suspend the parliamentary impeachment process until a separate legal review is concluded.
The president is seeking to overturn a November 2022 independent panel report, which concluded that he “may have committed” serious constitutional violations and misconduct.
Announcing the decision, Judge Andre le Grange ordered that the impeachment process should not continue until the court decides on Ramaphosa’s application.
“Pending the determination by this court of the applicant’s review… respondents are interdicted from proceeding with a public impeachment hearing,” the judge ruled.
The controversy stems from the theft of $580,000 in cash from Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo Province during a 2020 burglary.
Ramaphosa has consistently denied any wrongdoing, insisting that he reported the break-in to the police and that the money came from the legitimate sale of 20 buffaloes.
However, a former South African intelligence chief accused the president of concealing the theft from both police and tax authorities, alleging that the stolen amount was much higher than officially acknowledged.
The allegations triggered widespread political controversy and calls for Ramaphosa’s resignation.
Following Friday’s court ruling, the South African president said he remains committed to respecting the country’s legal processes.
“The President reaffirms his respect for judicial independence and the separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution. The President will continue to cooperate with and abide by processes of accountability,” a statement from his office said.
If the impeachment process eventually proceeds, it would mark the first impeachment hearing against a sitting South African president.
The court is expected to hear Ramaphosa’s application to overturn the 2022 panel report in September.
Although South Africa’s National Assembly initially voted against opening impeachment proceedings—thanks to the majority held by Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC)—the Constitutional Court overturned that decision in May 2026, leading to the formation of a parliamentary impeachment committee.
Meanwhile, criminal charges relating to the case had earlier been dropped by the country’s public prosecutor in 2024.
Source: AFP.
