Yasmin Bilal
Parliament’s Section 89 Impeachment Committee Chairperson, Makashule Gana, says he will oppose President Cyril Ramaphosa’s urgent application to stop the committee’s work when the matter is heard in the Western Cape High Court tomorrow and Thursday.
Ramaphosa is asking the court to grant an interdict preventing the impeachment inquiry from proceeding while the legal challenge is considered.
Gana, who has been cited as the second respondent in the case, confirmed he would attend the hearing.
“Tomorrow, I will be at the Western Cape High Court for the application by President Ramaphosa to interdict the work of the Impeachment Committee. I have opposed the application on behalf of the committee,” he said.
The application forms part of the ongoing legal process surrounding the Section 89 impeachment inquiry currently before Parliament. The hearing is scheduled for the next two days.
The case follows developments last month when National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza decided not to oppose Ramaphosa’s urgent application, leaving the court to determine the matter.
Her decision drew criticism from several opposition parties, including the ATM, the EFF and ActionSA. They argued that Didiza should recuse herself from matters relating to the impeachment process, saying her position within the ANC could create a perception of bias. The parties also called on Parliament to take a firmer stance in defending the Section 89 process.
The inquiry is linked to the Phala Phala matter, which centres on the alleged theft of about US$580,000 in foreign currency from Ramaphosa’s Limpopo farm in 2020.
The committee was established after the Constitutional Court directed Parliament to consider the findings of the Independent Panel under the National Assembly’s Section 89 rules.