South Africa’s top court declines to fast-track Phala Phala impeachment appeal
?s Constitutional Court has shut the door, for now, on an urgent appeal by political parties and Parliament’s Impeachment Committee seeking to li...
South Africa’s Constitutional Court has shut the door, for now, on an urgent appeal by political parties and Parliament’s Impeachment Committee seeking to lift an order that has halted public hearings in the Phala Phala impeachment process.
The ruling, handed down on Wednesday, means the interim interdict remains in place while President Cyril Ramaphosa’s separate legal challenge over the panel report at the centre of the inquiry runs its course. The court said it was not in the interests of justice to hear the appeal at this stage. Short, sharp. No hearing.
What the court decided
The African Transformation Movement, or ATM, was first to ask the apex court for direct access after the Western Cape High Court last month granted Ramaphosa an order stopping Parliament’s Section 89 committee from moving ahead with public hearings.
That High Court order allows only preparatory steps to continue while judges consider Ramaphosa’s review application. The president is seeking to set aside the report of the independent panel that found he had a case to answer over foreign currency stolen from his Phala Phala game farm and the alleged efforts to recover the money.
The ConCourt’s refusal leaves the lower-court interdict intact. Parliament can keep preparing. It cannot yet hold public hearings.
A bruising political fight continues
The ATM and one of its MPs, Vuyo Zungula, had sought direct access to appeal the High Court’s ruling. In separate reporting, the Economic Freedom Fighters were also linked to the urgent push for access, underlining how the case has drawn opposition parties into a broader fight over the handling of the impeachment process.
Ramaphosa’s legal team has argued that the hearings should not proceed while the judicial review remains unresolved. Parliament’s committee had already been working on the mechanics of the inquiry, including finalising terms of reference and appointing an evidence leader.
That work can continue. The public part cannot.
Why it matters beyond Cape Town
The case has become one of the most closely watched constitutional and political disputes in South Africa, because it sits at the intersection of parliamentary oversight and court intervention in the impeachment of a sitting president. The current pause means the dispute will stay locked in the courts for now, rather than moving into open hearings.
The Constitutional Court’s order keeps the status quo until the High Court has dealt with Ramaphosa’s complaints about the panel report. For the moment, the impeachment inquiry remains in limbo, waiting on the next judicial move.
“It’s not in the interest of justice to hear the matter at this stage,” the court said in its order.
