Has Ramaphosa escaped impeachment? The judiciary grants him a temporary reprieve in the Farmgate case.“

Written by: Mohammed Omran

In a new development in the “Farmgate” case that has been haunting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for years, a high court on Friday temporarily halted the parliamentary inquiry proceedings aimed at impeaching him, in a move that grants him a political and legal truce until a ruling is issued on the appeal regarding the report on which the impeachment proceedings were based.

The court's decision came after Ramaphosa requested a suspension of the parliamentary inquiry pending a judicial review of a 2022 independent committee report that concluded there were indications he may have violated the constitution, opening the door to calls for his impeachment and removal from office.

What is the “Farmgate” case?

The case dates back to 2020, when the president’s private farm in the Limpopo province was robbed of about $580,000 in foreign currency, which was hidden inside a sofa. The details of the incident were not revealed until two years later, and it later became one of the most prominent political issues in South Africa.

Ramaphosa faced accusations of concealing the theft and failing to report it to the police or tax authorities, but he denied any wrongdoing, asserting that the money was the proceeds from the sale of buffalo, and he rejected calls for his resignation.

Case course

Following the release of the Independent Commission’s report, Parliament refused to adopt it, taking advantage of the majority held by the ruling African National Congress party, which at the time halted the impeachment proceedings, before the Public Prosecutor dropped the charges related to the case in 2024.

But the issue resurfaced after the Constitutional Court ruled last May that the parliament's vote was unconstitutional, which resulted in the formation of a new parliamentary committee to consider holding the president accountable.

In parallel, Ramaphosa filed a legal challenge to the report, and the court is scheduled to consider this challenge next September.

Why did the court halt the impeachment proceedings?

The president’s defense team argued that proceeding with impeachment proceedings before ruling on the legality of the report would cause him political and moral damage, considering that the parliamentary investigation is based on a report that is still disputed before the courts.

Observers believe the court's decision gives Ramaphosa a chance to avoid further political pressure at the moment, especially with the ongoing controversy surrounding the case that has cast a shadow over his term.

What's next?

Following the verdict, Ramaphosa affirmed his respect for the independence of the judiciary and the principle of separation of powers, stressing his continued cooperation with all accountability procedures in accordance with the constitution.

Although the case remains open, analysts believe that the chances of impeaching the president are still limited, even if parliamentary proceedings are resumed later, given the legal and political complexities surrounding the “Farmgate” case, which remains one of the most controversial cases in the South African political scene.