South Africa to establish impeachment committee

National Assembly speaker Thoko Didiza confirmed on 13 May that she had begun the process of forming a 31-member committee to investigate whether President Cyril Ramaphosa should be impeached over the events surrounding the 2020 break-in at his farm, Phala Phala, in Limpopo.

The committee will be comprised of members from 16 of the 18 political parties with representation in the National Assembly. The Democratic Alliance will have five members, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party and the EFF will have two each, and the remaining 12 parties will each have a single representative.

Any determination as to whether Ramaphosa had committed an impeachable offence will need to be made by the 31-member impeachment committee.

Even if the high court upholds the panel report, it is unlikely that the committee will recommend impeachment, as Ramaphosa only needs 16 of the 31 committee members to oppose it, and a total of 20 members on the committee belong to parties that are in the Government of National Unity ruling coalition.