South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Monday that he would not resign and said he would challenge impeachment proceedings against him in court over a cash robbery scandal.
The announcement came hours after the South African Parliament announced its intention to establish an impeachment committee last week as ordered by the country’s highest court.
“So I want to respectfully make it clear that I will not be resigning,” Ramaphosa said in a televised address.
“To do so would be to circumvent the process defined by the Constitution. To do so would be to give credibility to a panel report which unfortunately has serious flaws.”
What is Ramaphosa accused of?
The South African president was accused of concealing a burglary and the theft of large amounts of foreign currency from police and tax authorities in 2020, known as the “Farmgate” scandal.
The money, $580,000 (€492,000) which Ramaphosa said was proceeds from the sale of buffaloes, was allegedly hidden inside a sofa at Ramaphosa’s luxury Phala Phala farmhouse in the northern Limpopo province.
In 2022, a report by an independent parliamentary committee found that Ramaphosa may have committed “serious violations and misconduct”. At the time, Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) party had a majority in Parliament and refused to initiate impeachment proceedings following the report.
The issue resurfaced last week when the Constitutional Court overturned its rejection of the 2022 parliamentary report.
In response to a complaint filed by the radical left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, the Constitutional Court ordered that the report be referred to the Impeachment Committee.
What is the impeachment process?
According to South Africa’s Constitution, impeaching Ramaphosa would require the support of at least two-thirds of the 400 MPs in parliament.
Before holding a vote on impeachment, a multi-party impeachment committee must first conduct an investigation. Monday’s parliamentary statement did not give any time frame for the investigation.
Ramaphosa’s ANC party lost its parliamentary majority in the 2024 election and is now part of a 10-party coalition known as the Government of National Unity. However, he can still avoid an impeachment vote if his party’s MLAs support him.
Edited by: Zack Crellin