Johannesburg. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has filed an urgent court application seeking to halt the commencement of parliamentary impeachment proceedings linked to the controversial Farmgate scandal, escalating a legal and political battle that has shadowed his presidency for nearly four years.
Court documents filed on Friday, June 12, show that Mr Ramaphosa is asking the High Court to suspend any impeachment process until it has ruled on a separate application in which he is challenging findings by an independent panel that concluded there may be grounds for him to answer allegations of misconduct.
The scandal centres on the theft of approximately $580,000 from Mr Ramaphosa's Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo Province in 2020. According to the president, the cash represented proceeds from the sale of buffaloes and had been concealed inside furniture when it was stolen.
However, the incident sparked widespread public scrutiny and raised questions about why such a large sum of money was kept on the property, whether it had been properly declared to the authorities, and whether all legal procedures had been followed. Mr Ramaphosa has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
The latest legal move comes weeks after South Africa's Constitutional Court revived impeachment proceedings against the president, ruling that a parliamentary vote in 2022 that halted the process was constitutionally invalid.
The Constitutional Court's decision reopened the possibility of a parliamentary inquiry into the allegations, potentially exposing the president to one of the most serious political challenges of his tenure.
Mr Ramaphosa's challenge to the independent panel's findings is scheduled to be heard by the High Court between September 2 and 4.
Since assuming office in 2018, the 73-year-old leader has sought to position himself as a reformer committed to tackling corruption and restoring public confidence in the governing African National Congress (ANC), whose reputation was severely damaged by a series of corruption scandals under previous administrations.
The Farmgate affair has nevertheless emerged as a significant political setback for the president, providing ammunition to opposition parties and critics who argue that the case undermines his anti-corruption credentials.
Despite the renewed impeachment threat, political analysts believe Mr Ramaphosa remains unlikely to be removed from office, given the ANC's substantial representation in Parliament and the support he continues to command within the ruling party.
Mr Ramaphosa is serving his second term as president, which is expected to run until 2029.
