ConCourt to determine if National Assembly failed to hold Ramaphosa accountable by dismissing independent report on Phala Phala
The matter is being brought by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and supported by the African Transformation Movement (ATM), which was also the party that initiated the Section 89 proceedings.
Phala Phala.
CAPE TOWN - The Constitutional Court will on Tuesday be faced with determining whether the National Assembly failed to hold President Cyril Ramaphosa accountable when it dismissed an independent panel report that intimated he may have breached the law and his oath of office.
The matter is being brought by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and supported by the African Transformation Movement (ATM), which was also the party that initiated the Section 89 proceedings.
They say Parliament circumvented the Constitution and its own rules when it failed to have the president answer to matters related to the storage and theft of US dollars from his Limpopo farm, Phala Phala, in 2020.
It's been almost two years since the African National Congress (ANC) used their majority at the time to reject the report.
Among the questions the Constitutional Court will be grappling with is whether the application is one of reviewing the parliamentary process or whether the applicant wants the court to compel Parliament to initiate impeachment proceedings.
An application for direct access to the Constitutional Court by President Cyril Ramaphosa to review the report compiled by three eminent jurists, including former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, was dismissed last year.
The court will now have to determine whether the National Assembly failed to carry out its constitutional obligation to hold the president accountable in terms of Section 89 of the Constitution.
It will also be questioning whether parliamentary rules create an unconstitutional impediment to executive accountability in impeachment proceedings.
In the open vote on 13 December 2022, opposition parties largely voted in favour of the report as a basis for the start of impeachment proceedings.
Only seven ANC members went against the party line to vote in favour of the report.
The Constitutional Court will now have to determine whether it can substitute the National Assembly's decision with one compelling it to appoint an impeachment committee.