The composition of Parliament’s Impeachment Committee has been finalized following the 22 May 2026 submission deadline, with the African National Congress confirming its slate of representatives after requesting a brief extension. The GOOD Party and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) have formally declined participation, pointing to their limited parliamentary presence as the basis for their decision.
Mdumiseni Ntuli, ANC Chief Whip in the National Assembly, confirmed the party submitted nine principal members and one alternate to serve on the committee. He highlighted that the nominees bring substantial legal expertise and prior experience on high-profile parliamentary inquiries, including the recent ad hoc committee and the earlier public protector impeachment proceedings. Among those named is longstanding party figure Cameron Dugmore.
Ntuli outlined the strategic thinking behind the deployments, noting the ANC prioritized individuals who combine legal acumen with deep institutional knowledge of parliamentary processes. “We selected comrades who have a legal background, but also comrades who are seasoned members of parliament,” he explained, adding that most nominees currently chair portfolio committees. This composition, he said, ensures the team can operate with autonomy and expertise, minimizing the need for constant external consultation during deliberations.
On the committee’s guiding principles, Ntuli stressed that nominees are mandated to function as impartial public representatives. He rejected the notion of an inherent tension between party and national interests, stating: “Our view is that these are comrades who have a duty to understand the facts relating to the subject at hand, to interrogate those matters and to do so truly as public representatives.” He affirmed that the ANC is not approaching the process with a predetermined objective regarding the impeachment’s outcome. “We are going there as members of parliament who have a duty to discharge their responsibilities in line with the precincts of our Constitution,” he said.
Addressing whether committee members could break ranks if convinced by evidence, Ntuli noted that while nominees serve as part of a collective ANC team, they retain the capacity to advocate for positions they believe are correct, as demonstrated during prior committee work. He emphasized that internal engagements with the party’s National Executive Committee were focused on truth-seeking rather than protectionism.
The committee’s work unfolds against a backdrop of legal uncertainty. President Cyril Ramaphosa has filed an affidavit asserting it would be “intolerable and a travesty” for the National Assembly to advance an impeachment process based on a report whose lawfulness and validity are currently under judicial review.
Ntuli indicated that the Speaker of the National Assembly will need to obtain legal counsel to navigate this tension. The committee is scheduled to convene on Monday to elect a chairperson—a procedural step mandated by parliamentary rules once a committee is constituted. “If the legal opinion… says the work of the committee must continue… then the committee is going to have to proceed,” Ntuli said. Should advice recommend pausing to ensure legal compliance, appropriate measures would follow to align with both parliamentary rules and the Constitution.
In a separate development, Ntuli addressed the ANC’s decision to decline an invitation to a proposed “Conference of the Left,” which would include the SACP, EFF, and other parties. He stated the party’s National Executive Committee questioned the ideological coherence of the convening groups, asking: “What is left about the MK party? What is left about the Economic Freedom Fighters?” While acknowledging these parties may occupy space on the left of the political spectrum, Ntuli characterized the proposed gathering as “essentially a platform to bash the ANC and the government” rather than a constructive forum for addressing progressive policy challenges. He maintained that declining the invitation does not contradict the ANC’s self-identification as a disciplined force of the left, arguing that such a designation requires evaluating initiatives by their substance, not their labels.
