Phala Phala Scandal: Cyril Ramaphosa Vows to Fight Impeachment Move

Simisola Adigun53 minutes ago

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Fresh political pressure is mounting on Cyril Ramaphosa after South Africa’s Constitutional Court revived impeachment proceedings linked to the Phala Phala scandal, a 2022 controversy involving allegations that large sums of foreign currency were hidden inside furniture at the president’s private game farm.

The issue gained public attention after a former intelligence official accused the president of concealing the theft of about $580,000 from the property. In response to growing calls for his resignation, the South African president said he would remain in office and challenge the findings of an independent panel investigating the controversy.

Speaking during a televised address on Monday, Ramaphosa insisted that resigning would undermine the constitutional process already in motion.

“I will not resign,” he said, maintaining that the panel report contained serious legal and procedural flaws.

The latest controversy follows a Constitutional Court ruling which declared that parliament acted unlawfully when

it blocked impeachment proceedings against the president over the scandal. The court ordered that the report be returned to parliament for proper consideration by an impeachment committee.

Ramaphosa has denied any wrongdoing, insisting the money was payment for a buffalo sold to a Sudanese businessman.

Following the recent court decision, opposition parties and critics renewed calls for Ramaphosa to resign. The president, however, said he would seek a judicial review of the panel’s findings, arguing that the report relied heavily on hearsay evidence and errors in law.

South Africa’s parliament is now expected to set up an impeachment committee to further examine the allegations against the president.