Breaking News: Court Finally Speaks On Pres. Ramaphosa impeachment
President Cyril Ramaphosa has emerged victorious after his interdict application to halt parliament’s impeachment process relating to the Phala Phala scandal was successful.
The Western Cape High Court in Cape Town delivered its ruling on Friday, 24 July 2026, following two days of argument heard last week before Judges André le Grange, Matthew Francis and Diane Davis.
Ramaphosa sought to prevent the start of the impeachment inquiry until his separate review challenge against the Section 89 independent panel’s report is finalised.
The president, in a broader legal battle, wants to overturn the panel’s findings after it concluded that he has questions to answer regarding the theft of approximately $580 000 (about R9.6 million) from his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in February 2020.
Ramaphosa granted interim interdict against Phala Phala impeachment committee
In court, Ramaphosa’s legal team argued that the judiciary’s urgent intervention is necessary, saying without the interdict, the impeachment committee could begin its work before a ruling on the validity of the panel’s findings is given.
This would cause the president “irrefutable harm“, according to his lawyers.
On Friday, Le Grange stated that the court had “carefully” evaluated the arguments presented by all parties, ultimately delivering three separate judgments.
In the first judgment, the court found that Ramaphosa had failed to establish a case in his application.
“It proposes that the application should be dismissed,” the judge said.
The second and third judgments, however, granted an interim interdict for a limited duration.
As a result, National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza, cited as the first respondent, along with the chairperson of the impeachment committee, has been instructed to halt proceedings pending the outcome of the review challenge.
The issue of legal costs was deferred and will be decided by the court once the review application has been finalised.
“That is our judgment,” Le Grange remarked.
Ramaphosa, through his office, has since welcomed the outcome.
“The president reaffirms his respect of judicial independence and separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution.
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“The president will continue to cooperate with and abide by processes of accountability,” he Presidency’s statement reads.
ConCourt ruling
The legal battle followed a Constitutional Court (ConCourt) ruling in May this year, which found that Parliament had acted unlawfully when it blocked impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa in December 2022.
Therefore, the National Assembly was compelled to establish a formal impeachment committee to investigate the allegations further.
The committee – made up of 31 members of parliament from 16 political parties – is chaired by Rise Mzansi’s chief organiser, Makashule Gana.
Meanwhile, Ramaphosa’s review application is scheduled to be heard from 2 to 4 September by the Western Cape High Court.
