The African National Congress has indicated that the National Assembly is prepared to move forward with the formation of an Impeachment Committee, scheduled to hold its inaugural meeting on Monday for the election of a chairperson and the commencement of its duties.
ANC Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli confirmed that the committee’s mandate centers on examining allegations of misconduct leveled against President Cyril Ramaphosa. However, Ntuli noted that the panel’s immediate trajectory hinges on legal guidance anticipated from the Speaker of Parliament concerning the ramifications of the President’s recent application to the courts.
Under National Assembly rules, once a committee is formally constituted, it is obligated to convene its first session to elect leadership. Ntuli acknowledged this procedural requirement but stressed that the Speaker, in her capacity as head of Parliament, bears the responsibility of ensuring all committee actions align with both parliamentary standing rules and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
“The Speaker is the head of another state institution which is Parliament, and she has a duty to guide committees of Parliament in line with the rules of that Parliament as well as the Constitution,” Ntuli stated.
Ntuli outlined that the Speaker is expected to obtain a formal legal opinion to navigate the intersection between parliamentary procedure and the President’s judicial intervention. He described two possible pathways depending on that advice:
* If the legal opinion concludes that no statutory barrier exists to pause the committee’s work solely because the President has approached the courts, the committee would be obligated to advance with its investigative mandate.
* Should the guidance indicate that proceeding immediately—without first undertaking specific procedural safeguards—could compromise legal compliance, then those prerequisite steps would need to be completed before substantive work begins.
Ntuli emphasized that the process remains dynamic and contingent on the Speaker’s receipt and interpretation of the pending legal counsel. “It’s going to depend,” he said, reaffirming that parliamentary processes must balance urgency with adherence to constitutional and legal frameworks.
The establishment of the Impeachment Committee marks a pivotal phase in Parliament’s handling of the allegations against President Ramaphosa. Stakeholders now await the Speaker’s legal guidance to determine the precise timing and manner in which the committee will proceed with its constitutionally mandated responsibilities.
