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South Africa’s Constitutional Court announced on Thursday that it will hear a petition next month from two opposition parties seeking to revive impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa over a cash scandal involving more than $500,000 hidden in a sofa at his farm and later stolen.
In 2022, President Ramaphosa narrowly avoided impeachment when the ruling ANC, leveraging its parliamentary majority, blocked the motion despite an independent report questioning his conduct and calling for a full investigation.
Since then, the ANC has formed a broad governing coalition with nine other parties, easing some of the criticism directed at Ramaphosa. However, two opposition parties outside the coalition, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Movement for the Transformation of Africa (MTA), have taken the issue to the Constitutional Court. They argue that parliament failed to uphold its constitutional duty to hold the president accountable.
The scandal first emerged in June 2022, after it was revealed that $580,000 in US currency had been hidden in a sofa at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm and stolen two years prior, but not disclosed. Opposition parties have since accused Ramaphosa of tax evasion, money laundering, and violating foreign exchange laws. Ramaphosa denies any wrongdoing, claiming the money was from legitimate sales of animals on his farm but has yet to explain why it was concealed in furniture.
Questions have also been raised about whether the theft was properly reported to law enforcement. Ramaphosa stated that he informed his security chief but has faced accusations of attempting to cover up both the theft and the money’s existence.
While the president has been cleared by the Reserve Bank and a state watchdog, opposition parties remain unconvinced and have challenged these findings.
Ramaphosa, 71, secured a second term in June 2024, but only with the support of opposition MPs after the ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since the dawn of South Africa’s democracy in 1994.
