South Africa halts impeachment against President Cyril Ramaphosa over stolen cash inquiry
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A South African court ordered a halt to impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa over a scandal involving over $580 000 of cash stolen from his farm in 2020.
The Western Cape High Court judgment on Friday does not stop the impeachment committee from doing other preparatory work for the pending proceedings.
Lawmakers had started impeachment proceedings in June after a damning parliamentary report concluded the president had a case to answer regarding the handling of the theft, including why such large amounts of cash were kept in a sofa at the farm.
The inquiry also includes questions over the source of the money, whether the foreign currency was legally declared and why he did not immediately report the theft to the police.
Ramaphosa is challenging the report in court and applied for the impeachment proceedings to be halted until the process to review the report is complete.
Ramaphosa welcomed Friday’s judgment, according to his office, which said he would “cooperate with and abide by processes of accountability.”
“The President reaffirms his respect of judicial independence and separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution,” the office said in statement.
The so-called “Phala-Phala scandal” has been one of Ramaphosa’s major political headaches since he became the country’s leader in 2018.
The country’s Constitutional Court, the highest in the country, ruled earlier this year that the parliamentary report was valid and impeachment proceedings could proceed after the ANC had won a parliamentary vote to block it.
The impeachment committee includes representatives from all political parties in the country’s Parliament. Most parties said Friday they would study the judgment and consider whether to appeal.