Zuko Komisa
- President Cyril Ramaphosa has requested the Chief Justice’s consent to launch a judicial review aimed at overturning the Section 89 panel’s damning Phala Phala report.
- This strategic move follows a Constitutional Court ruling that overturned Parliament’s initial rejection of the report and ordered an official impeachment inquiry.
- Alongside the review, Ramaphosa’s legal team is seeking an urgent interdict to halt all parliamentary impeachment proceedings while the courts deliberate.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has formally written to the private Office of the Chief Justice to obtain consent to launch a judicial review against the independent Section 89 panel’s findings.
This legal maneuver comes in the wake of a pivotal Constitutional Court judgment, which effectively resurrected the Phala Phala scandal by setting aside Parliament’s previous decision to dismiss the report, ordering instead that the matter be referred straight to an impeachment committee.
The independent panel’s report previously concluded there was prima facie evidence meaning sufficient initial evidence suggesting the President may have committed serious misconduct and violated the constitution regarding the theft of undeclared foreign currency at his Phala Phala game farm.
By approaching the courts, Ramaphosa aims to have these damaging findings reviewed and entirely set aside, challenging the legal validity of the panel’s conclusions.
As part of this high-stakes legal strategy, the President’s team is also seeking an urgent court interdict.
If granted, this would temporarily freeze and pause the parliamentary impeachment committee’s proceedings, ensuring that lawmakers cannot move forward with potential removal processes while the broader judicial review is still being argued in court.
READ NEXT: Justice prevails: Rosemary Ndlovu and Nomsa Mudau found guilty after failed murder plot
The post Ramaphosa fights back: President launches legal bid to halt impeachment inquiry appeared first on KAYA 959.
