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South African President Cyril Ramaphosa filed a lawsuit that aims to stop parliament from instituting impeachment proceedings against him, arguing that the process stemmed from the findings of an advisory panel which erred when it found he may have committed serious violations in his handling of a robbery at his wildlife ranch.<\/p>\n
In papers filed at the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday, Ramaphosa asked the court to review and set aside the panel\u2019s 2022 report because its conclusions were based on hearsay evidence and didn\u2019t follow proper procedures. All related parliamentary processes should also be put on hold until the conclusion of the review, the president said.<\/p>\n
Read:
Ramaphosa to appeal against farm cash report
\u2018I will not resign\u2019 \u2013 Ramaphosa
ConCourt rekindles Ramaphosa cash-in-sofa saga<\/p>\n
The case stems from the 2020 theft of foreign currency hidden inside a sofa at Ramaphosa\u2019s game farm, a scandal that triggered allegations he concealed the crime and may have breached anti-corruption and foreign-exchange rules.<\/p>\n
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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\u2019s tax agency and central bank found that he hadn\u2019t broken any laws.<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa\u2019s lawyers argued that the advisory panel improperly lowered the threshold for triggering impeachment proceedings and failed to determine whether sufficient evidence existed that he was in fact guilty of serious misconduct.<\/p>\n
They also said the panel conflated information it had received with admissible evidence, and improperly relied on allegations made by former spy chief Arthur Fraser, a confidential Namibian police report and audio recordings, the veracity of which had never been tested.<\/p>\n
Listen: Phala Phala: A legal win or a blow to accountability?<\/p>\n
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Ramaphosa previously abandoned plans to seek a review of the panel\u2019s conclusions when parliament voted against adopting its report, rendering the findings moot.<\/p>\n
But the Constitutional Court on May 8 found that the rule used by parliament to effectively shield the president was unconstitutional, and on Monday the legislature said it had received the names of lawmakers who had been nominated to serve on a committee to consider whether he should be impeached.<\/p>\n
Ramaphosa, who took office eight years ago, retains strong backing from within the African National Congress, the country\u2019s biggest political party, and his removal from office remains unlikely. The ongoing saga nonetheless poses political risks for him and the ANC ahead of municipal elections in November, particularly if damning evidence emerges.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
#Ramaphosa #challenges #cashinsofa #report #court<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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