The Constitutional Court ruled that the National Assembly’s vote to reject the Section 89 Independent Panel’s report on the Phala Phala scandal is inconsistent with the constitution, invalid and set aside.

The report of the independent panel has now been referred to an impeachment committee.

The EFF and ATM brought the case in November 2024, challenging Parliament’s rejection of the Section 89 Independent Panel’s report on the Phala Phala scandal.

The matter stems from a 2020 robbery at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm, where $580,000 in cash – allegedly stored in furniture – was stolen.

The panel found that Ramaphosa “may have committed” serious violations and misconduct in handling the incident, raising suspicions of money laundering and corruption. Ramaphosa denied wrongdoing, admitting to investigators that the cash was payment for buffaloes sold to a Sudanese businessman.

Parliament later voted against impeachment proceedings that could have removed him from office. Ramaphosa’s legal team argued that the National Assembly had acted within its constitutional mandate by rejecting the panel’s findings.

In August 2023, Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka cleared Ramaphosa of breaching executive ethics, ruling that his response did not violate the Constitution.

ALSO READ: Cash-stash couch ‘missing’ from Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm