ATM to take Ramaphosa impeachment inquiry ruling to the Constitutional Court

ATM's Vuyo Zungula questioned whether a lower court could suspend the implementation of a Constitutional Court order. The Constitutional Court is again being asked to make a ruling related to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala matter. Vuyo Zungula and the African Transformation Movement (ATM) on Saturday applied for an urgent direct appeal to the Constitutional Court to review a ruling made by Western Cape High Court. The High Court on Friday granted Ramaphosa an interim order to halt the impeachment inquiry until a verdict is made on his own challenge of the Section 89 panel’s report on the Phala Phala matter. The President’s separate review wishes to overturn the report’s conclusion that he had questions to answer regarding the almost R10 million stolen from his Phala Phala farm in 2020. The Constitutional Court ruled in May that the Section 89 report must go back to Parliament, triggering the establishment of the impeachment committee. Zungula argued that Friday’s judgement created uncertainty over the Constitutional Court’s authority. ATM’s parliamentary leader stressed that the fresh motion was not an attack on the High Court, but that a legal distinction needed to be made. “It is therefore necessary for the Constitutional Court to clarify whether the implementation of one of its own orders may be suspended by a lower court. “Such uncertainty has profound implications not only for this matter but also for the constitutional relationship between the judiciary and Parliament, the separation of powers, and the supremacy of the Constitution,” Zungula stated. He highlighted that the High Court’s decision was not unanimous, as a dissenting judge found Ramaphosa had failed to establish a proper case for interim relief. Zungula added that Friday’s ruling did not exonerate the president, expressing his belief that the Phala Phala allegations remain unresolved. “The integrity of South Africa’s constitutional democracy depends on clarity, consistency, and respect for the authority of the country’s highest court. “These are principles that must be protected, irrespective of the individuals involved,” Zungula concluded. Opposition leaders ‘complaining’ Finance minister Enoch Godongwana addressed the High Court’s ruling while speaking at the Limpopo ANC’s Nelson Mandela rally on Saturday. He urged dissenters not to cry foul because the court had not taken their side on this occasion. “What is disturbing in our country is those who when a judgement is in their favour, they say we’ve got a good judiciary. “When a judgement is not in their favour, the judiciary is bad. You can’t have all those things at the same time. “We must respect the judgement of the judiciary. When they rule against us, and when they rule in our favour. “I must make this point, because most of the opposition leaders now have become film stars on television complaining about that judgment,” said Godongwana. The office of The Presidency welcomed the High Court’s judgement, affirming Ramaphosa’s right to due process. “The president reaffirms his respect of judicial independence and separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution. “The president will continue to cooperate with and abide by processes of accountability,” The Presidency stated.