As the Constitutional Court is expected to deliver a judgment tomorrow in the landmark Phala Phala case involving President Cyril Ramaphosa, opposition parties and political experts have called for justice, saying the apex court should finally hold the President accountable.

According to The Star, political parties believe the ruling will repair the extensive reputational damage to government institutions that found themselves ‘scrambling to protect’ Ramaphosa after the scandal hit the public domain.

Tomorrow’s ruling is expected to make a determination on whether Parliament acted lawfully when it rejected a report recommending an impeachment inquiry into Ramaphosa.

The dispute centres on a section 89 independent panel chaired by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo. The panel concluded that there was sufficient evidence to justify Parliament considering the establishment of an impeachment inquiry against the President.

The findings relate to allegations involving the handling of foreign currency at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo.

The panel examined claims that approximately R9.5m in foreign currency was concealed in a sofa on the property and later stolen, along with questions about whether proper procedures were followed following the incident.

The report concluded the evidence was sufficient to warrant further scrutiny through a formal impeachment inquiry.

However, the National Assembly voted by 214 votes to 148 to reject the report.

According to The Star, ATM president Vuyolwethu Zungula, who has been at the forefront of the Phala Phala legal battle, posted on X that South Africans must remember that the President is not above the law.

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont alleged Phala Phala scandal saw one government institution after another fall over themselves in a bid to clear the President of any accountability.

‘The case before the Constitutional Court seeks to declare the actions of Parliament as unconstitutional in its failure to hold the President to account. ActionSA believes the Constitutional Court must declare the actions of Parliament unconstitutional and force Parliament to consider the case against the President,’ he said.

The DA declined to comment. Anda Mbikwana, a commentator who specialises in matters of constitutional law and democratic governance, described the Phala Phala matter as a ‘constitutional reckoning – one that will determine whether SA’s hard-won democratic framework means what it says, or whether it bends to the weight of office’.

Full report in The Star