In brief
In a swift move, President Cyril Ramaphosa has obtained a temporary injunction from the Western Cape High Court, stopping Parliament from advancing its impeachment inquiry over the Farmgate scandal. The ruling follows a Constitutional Court decision last month that declared the earlier shelving of an investigative panel unlawful, opening the door for the crisis to intensify. Ramaphosa’s legal team argued that without a hear of his own case, continuing the inquiry would cause irreversible reputational damage. Political observers note that the halt gives the president a brief respite as Parliament is poised to push forward once the court’s review is finished.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has secured a temporary court halt to an ongoing impeachment inquiry amid the Farmgate scandal.
Last week a Western Cape High Court judge granted an injunction that pauses the parliamentary committee’s hearings until the court decides on Ramaphosa’s separate appeal against the findings of an independent panel. This effectively gives the president a brief respite as he prepares his legal defence for a September hearing.
Earlier this year, investigators uncovered that thieves had broken into Ramaphosa’s private farm in Phala Phala and stolen a large sum of cash—at least $580,000—hidden in a sofa. An explosive dossier sent to police by former spy chief Arthur Fraser raised allegations that the president had hidden the theft from authorities.
Ramaphosa maintains the money was from a buffalo sale, but critics argue the police and tax offices were left in the dark. His asylum request was based on the belief that halting the impeachment process would prevent “irreparable reputational harm.”
Political reactions are mixed: the Democratic Alliance says the ruling is predictable but does not block the committee’s preparatory work, while the opposition led by former President Zuma accuses the president of stalling justice.
With the ANC now part of a coalition government, the political stakes are high. The court’s decision means the impeachment inquiry can only resume after the court’s review—a timetable that may shift Parliamentary momentum for months.
