The ANC is expected to rally behind President Cyril Ramaphosa when its National Executive Committee meets in Cape Town on Tuesday afternoon, as the party scrambles to contain the political fallout from the revived Phala Phala impeachment process.
The Sunday Times understands that senior advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi advised ANC officials on Monday that Ramaphosa should urgently take the independent panel report on review. Insiders said the meeting made it clear that resignation was never on the table.
Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Monday night, stating that he had no intentions to resign.
“I therefore respectfully want to make it clear that I will not resign. To do so would be to pre-empt a process defined by the constitution. To do so would be to give credence to a panel report that unfortunately has grave flaws. To do so would be to abdicate the responsibility that I assumed when I became president of the Republic,” Ramaphosa said.
He boldly stated that he intends to fully continue serving the people of this country and advance their interests. However, he will be seeking a legal review of the section 89 report that found there is a case to answer.
The move comes days after the Constitutional Court overturned Parliament’s December 2022 decision to block the Phala Phala report from proceeding to a formal impeachment inquiry.
The independent panel, chaired by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, found prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have violated the constitution and committed serious misconduct linked to the 2020 theft of foreign currency from his Phala Phala game farm.
Despite the mounting pressure, insiders described Ramaphosa as being in “high spirits” during Monday’s discussions, with senior ANC figures convinced the party could still delay or contain the process.
The ANC’s top leadership has now instructed National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza to initiate the impeachment process, while ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli is expected to convene the party’s parliamentary whippery this week to prepare for the next phase.
At the same time, Ramaphosa and the ANC are pinning their hopes on a court review application to halt the parliamentary inquiry before it gathers momentum.
The parliamentary process is expected to begin this week, though ANC insiders said there were still internal discussions about the size and composition of the impeachment committee. One proposal under consideration is for all political parties represented in Parliament to sit on the committee — a move that could see it balloon to more than 30 members, with the ANC holding the majority through proportional representation.
In a statement on Monday, Parliament confirmed that Didiza had outlined the process the National Assembly would follow to implement the Constitutional Court judgment.
Parliament said the ruling effectively stripped the National Assembly of its discretion to halt impeachment proceedings once an independent panel had found sufficient evidence for further investigation.
If he is hauled before the committee, opposition parties will use it to embarrass both him and the ANC. Front of mind for us is the election. This process hanging over us close to the polls would hurt the party badly.
— ANC insider
As part of complying with the judgment, Didiza will formally table the panel’s report before the National Assembly, provide Ramaphosa with a copy and begin establishing an impeachment committee in line with section 89 of the constitution.
“The speaker will formally refer the Independent Panel Report to the Impeachment Committee as directed by the Constitutional Court,” Parliament said.
Didiza will also determine the committee’s timelines, procedures and institutional support.
Behind closed doors, however, ANC leaders are increasingly anxious about the political damage the process could inflict ahead of next year’s elections.
“What we are trying to avoid is political theatre,” one ANC insider said.
“If he is hauled before the committee, opposition parties will use it to embarrass both him and the ANC. Front of mind for us is the election. This process hanging over us close to the polls would hurt the party badly.”
Another insider said the ANC expected the inquiry itself to gain momentum only around July, arguing there were still procedural hurdles before a full impeachment hearing could get underway.
A separate source claimed Ramaphosa had been instructed by the ANC to address the nation on Monday evening.
“What he will do is urgently take the report on review by Thursday. Then [Didiza] will announce that the impeachment process is effectively paused because of the review application,” the source said.
Some in the ANC are also worried the Economic Freedom Fighters could use the impeachment process to extract political concessions or push for influence over Cabinet appointments.
Speaking to party supporters on Monday, EFF leader Julius Malema vowed the party would continue pursuing Ramaphosa’s impeachment even if the president resigned.
The EFF accused Ramaphosa of relying on “political manipulation and procedural delay” to escape accountability.
The party said Ramaphosa had initially launched a court challenge against the section 89 panel report in December 2022, only to abandon it after the ANC used its parliamentary majority to block the impeachment process days later.
According to the EFF, Ramaphosa’s decision to revive the review application now exposed a “desperate litigation strategy”.
Meanwhile, Democratic Alliance leader Geordin Hill-Lewis said Ramaphosa should bring any review application with due haste and on an expedited basis, so that the legal position is clarified quickly and this matter is not delayed unnecessarily.
“Given the serious constitutional consequences of this matter, and the massive public interest in it, Parliament must take the South African people into its confidence by sharing that legal advice once it receives it.
“This matter must be handled lawfully, transparently and with the constitutional seriousness it deserves,” he said.
The South African Communist Party in Moses Mabhida has sounded the call for Ramaphosa to resign as the number one citizen of the country.
They have scathingly described recent events around the Phala Phala farm scandal a “serious constitutional, ethical and political crisis”, which must result in his departure from office.
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