By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Prominent South African opposition leader Julius Malema has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to immediately resign, citing a Constitutional Court ruling that the parliament had violated the constitutional provision by blocking moves to impeach him in 2022.
The ruling follows a suit filed by Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and others, and re-awaken impeachment proceedings against the South African leader.
In 2022, an independent panel said Ramaphosa may have a case to answer after burglars invaded his home and made away with $580,000 (£430,000) in cash, hidden in a sofa.
The theft led to call for Ramaphosa to face accountability and provide further details on the source of the large sum of money. The President has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
A parliamentary voting four years ago blocked moves to impeach him. Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) at that time controlled a majority in parliament. But after the 2024 general election, the party has been governing in a coalition.
Ramaphosa’s office in response to the judgement said he “reaffirms his commitment to the Constitution, the independence of the Judiciary and the rule of law”.
The statement said the President had been “consistent in providing his full assistance” to all enquiries into the matter.
“President Ramaphosa maintains that no person is above the law and that any allegations should be subjected to due process without fear, favour or prejudice.”
The ANC also released a statement to similar effect, adding on X that the judgement shows “the importance of allowing institutions to function independently” within South Africa’s constitutional democracy.
Speaking to reporters outside the court in Johannesburg earlier, Malema said Ramaphosa should resign and “concentrate on this impeachment process because it has got serious implications on him as an individual”.
“You cannot serve the two – one is going to suffer,” he explained, referring to being president and preparing for impeachment.
The EFF took the case to the country’s highest court alongside the African Transformation Movement in 2024.
Malema, who is facing his own difficulties as he appeals against a sentence for the the illegal possession of a gun and firing it in public, said members of Ramaphosa’s ANC will impeach him because “the evidence will be before their eyes”.
His party has written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, asking for a “clear indication, within the next 48 hours, of specific steps” she intends to take given the judgement, South Africa’s News24 website reported.
Geordin Hill-Lewis, the leader of the Democratic Alliance, the second largest party in the governing coalition, said politicians must “uphold the rule of law”, and that parliament’s impeachment committee “must now do its work properly, rationally, fairly and constitutionally”.
The financial scandal is dubbed “Farmgate” by local media and started in 2020, after the $580,000 had allegedly been stolen from Phala Phala, Ramaphosa’s farm in the northern Limpopo province.
