South African court pauses President Cyril Ramaphosa's impeachment process

The president had sought to stay the inquiry pending a legal review of a report finding he had a case to answer in the 'Farmgate' scandal.

W Wade Wilson Author

July 24, 2026
Updated Oct 16, 2026
4 min read
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South African court pauses President Cyril Ramaphosa's impeachment process

By Rédaction Africanews with AFP

Last updated: 24/07 - 13:44

South Africa

A high court in South Africa on Friday granted President Cyril Ramaphosa an interdict temporarily halting a parliamentary impeachment inquiry against him. Ramaphosa had sought to stay the public inquiry pending a legal review of an independent panel report in 2022. It found that he may have violated the constitution and have a case to answer in the so-called “Farmgate” scandal.

This involves the 2020 theft of $580,000 in undeclared foreign currency ⁠hidden in a sofa on his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo province. Details of the robbery only emerged two years later. The president is accused of hiding the break-in and theft from both the police and tax authorities. Ramaphosa has denied any wrongdoing, saying the cash was the proceeds of the sale of buffalo, and has ruled out resigning over the incident. The panel report was rejected in a vote in the National Assembly, where his ruling African National Congress held a majority, quashing the opening of impeachment proceedings at that time. The public prosecutor dropped the charges in 2024. However, the Constitutional Court overturned the parliament vote in May this year, leading to the establishment of the parliamentary impeachment committee. Ramaphosa then launched a review challenging the legality of the report, which will be heard in September. His advocate had argued that subjecting the president to an impeachment inquiry on the back of a flawed report would “humiliate” him. The ruling likely spares Ramaphosa further embarrassment over the scandal until the review is heard. But analysts say that even if the impeachment process gets off the ground, he is unlikely to be removed from office. Ramaphosa said after the court decision that he "reaffirms his respect of judicial independence and separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution." "The President will continue to cooperate with and abide by processes of accountability," a statement said. Should the impeachment proceedings go ahead, they would be the first for a sitting South African president.