JUST IN: Ramaphosa wins interdict to stop Phala Phala impeachment committee

The Western Cape High Court delivered its judgment on Friday. 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 arguments heard last week before Judges André le Grange, Matthew Francis, and Diane Davis. Ramaphosa sought to prevent the start of an 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 challenges 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. 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. As a result, the National Assembly was compelled to establish a formal impeachment committee to investigate the allegations further. The committee – made up of 31 MPs from 16 political parties – is chaired by Rise Mzansi’s chief organiser, Makashule Gana. Meanwhile, Ramaphosa’s review application is scheduled to be heard between 2 and 4 September by the High Court. This is a developing story