Pressure is mounting on President Cyril Ramaphosa following a Constitutional Court ruling on the Section 89 impeachment process and renewed scrutiny over the Phala Phala scandal. Opposition parties and some former ANC leaders have intensified calls for the president to step down, citing weakened moral authority and political standing.
Governance expert Dr. Sam Koma, however, argues that Ramaphosa should go through the full impeachment process rather than resign. Koma emphasised that the president was elected on an anti-corruption ticket and has positioned himself as a champion of accountability. He recommended that Ramaphosa comply with any directive from the National Assembly to provide a proper account of the Phala Phala matter instead of taking what he described as the easy road of resignation.
Speaking on the matter, Dr. Sam Koma called for parliament to fast-track the process by referring the Section 89 independent panel report to the impeachment committee to be established by the National Assembly. He noted that the president, like everyone else, is entitled to equal protection and benefit of the law, and one option under consideration is subjecting the panel report to judicial review because it contains untested allegations.
Dr. Koma clarified that the Constitutional Court judgment does not address the president’s conduct or guilt. Instead, it found that parliament had failed to fulfil its constitutional obligations — specifically by rejecting the adoption of the panel report in December 2022 — similar to issues identified in the Uganda matter. The ruling declared the existing impeachment rules unconstitutional and set them aside.
On the ANC’s position, Dr. Koma said the party currently has no appetite to remove its sitting president. Ramaphosa received a second term mandate at the ANC’s 2022 elective conference, which ends next year. The ANC must also prepare for local government elections scheduled for 4 November 2026, followed by its national elective conference to choose a successor. Insiders cited in recent reports indicated that the president is staying put.
In parliament, motions of no confidence require a simple majority, while removing a sitting president through impeachment needs a two-thirds majority. Dr. Koma noted that it remains to be seen whether parties such as the EFF and ATM can secure enough support from other parties. Within the Government of National Unity (GNU), he assessed that parties are likely to rally behind President Ramaphosa. The IFP has said it respects the judgment and wants parliament to process the matter properly, while the Patriotic Alliance has stated that no one should count on it for a motion of no confidence or impeachment, and that it is rallying behind the president.
Dr. Koma acknowledged that the Phala Phala saga has caused political damage over time, given Ramaphosa’s track record of establishing commissions of inquiry and interventions against corruption, fraud, and malfeasance in state institutions, including through the SIU and the Madlanga commission.
Opposition parties like the EFF and ATM are claiming victory from the Constitutional Court ruling, which they initiated, and are expected to use the issue for political mileage ahead of the local government elections by positioning themselves as defenders of accountability and the rule of law. Whether the Phala Phala matter will significantly dent the ANC’s voter support remains to be seen.
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