SA legislature seeks legal advice on Ramaphosa probe

South Africa’s parliamentary speaker is seeking legal advice on whether legislature should proceed with an impeachment inquiry into President Cyril Ramaphosa over his handling of a robbery at his game farm, after he filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the process.

In the interim, a multiparty panel of lawmakers are pressing ahead with the probe, with their first meeting planned for next week. “The intention is for the committee to sit this Monday with the intention to elect a chairperson,” Masibulele Xaso, the National Assembly’s secretary, said at the legislature’s programing session on Thursday.

Ramaphosa’s lawyer argued that the parliamentary process stemmed from the findings of an advisory panel, which erred when it found he may have committed serious violations.

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In papers filed at the Western Cape High Court on May 26, the president asked the court to review and set aside the panel’s 2022 report because its conclusions were based on hearsay evidence. He also called for all related parliamentary processes to be put on hold until the conclusion of the review.

The case stems from the 2020 theft of foreign currency hidden inside a sofa at Ramaphosa’s farm, a scandal that triggered allegations he concealed the crime and may have breached anti-corruption and foreign-exchange rules.

While the panel said Ramaphosa may have violated the constitution and his oath of office, he has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and separate probes by the nation’s tax agency and central bank found that he hadn’t broken any laws.

Ramaphosa, who took office eight years ago, retains strong backing from within the African National Congress, the country’s biggest political party, and his removal from office remains unlikely.

Still, the ongoing saga poses political risks for him and the ANC ahead of municipal elections in November, particularly if damning evidence emerges.

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