South Africa’s parliament has scheduled the first meeting of an impeachment committee for Monday to probe misconduct allegations against President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Democratic Alliance (DA) party announced Thursday.
The 31-member parliamentary committee will investigate the “Farmgate” scandal, which involves the 2020 theft of $580,000 in foreign cash hidden inside a sofa at Ramaphosa’s private game farm.
The upcoming meeting marks the next stage of an impeachment process that was officially revived this month after the Constitutional Court ruled a previous 2022 parliamentary vote blocking the inquiry was invalid.
“The good thing is that parliament seems to be moving forward,” said DA parliamentary leader George Michalakis, noting that the committee’s first order of business will be electing a chairperson.
The DA is currently the second-biggest party in a coalition government with Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) but maintains that the committee chairperson should not be a member of the ANC.
Ramaphosa has consistently denied any wrongdoing, maintaining the cash was legitimate proceeds from a buffalo sale. On Tuesday, he filed court papers to challenge the initial independent panel findings that triggered the probe.
The president has also threatened to seek an urgent court injunction to halt the impeachment proceedings entirely if parliament continues the inquiry while his legal challenge is pending in court.
Although the ANC holds only nine of the 31 seats on the newly formed committee, it commands 40% of the National Assembly, giving it substantial leverage to block the final impeachment vote.
Any final vote to remove the president from office requires a two-thirds majority in parliament, meaning Ramaphosa could survive if his party lawmakers remain united behind him.
