SOUTH AFRICA — The Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that the National Assembly's vote on December 13, 2022 to block an impeachment inquiry into President Cyril Ramaphosa was inconsistent with the Constitution and invalid. The court ordered that an independent panel's report be referred to an impeachment committee.

The case was brought to the Constitutional Court by the Economic Freedom Fighters and the African Transformation Movement. In December 2022, the African National Congress used its parliamentary majority to reject the independent panel's recommendation that Ramaphosa face an impeachment inquiry.

A statement by Ramaphosa's office said he respected the Constitutional Court's judgement and that no one is above the law. The Economic Freedom Fighters has also called on Ramaphosa to resign.

The impeachment committee is due to review evidence against Ramaphosa before deciding whether to recommend formal proceedings. The committee is expected to take several months before deciding whether to vote for an inquiry. Removing a South African president from office requires a two-thirds majority vote in the National Assembly. The ANC retains more than one-third of the seats in the National Assembly despite losing its majority in 2024.

The dispute stems from allegations made in June 2022 by Arthur Fraser, former head of the State Security Agency, who accused Ramaphosa of attempting to cover up the theft of money from his farm. Fraser alleged that about $4 million in foreign currency had been stolen from Ramaphosa's farmhouse.

Ramaphosa, who has been President of South Africa since 2018, denied wrongdoing in the Farmgate scandal, saying the money came from the sale of buffalo at his farm. He has said $580,000 was taken in the theft.