Johannesburg. South Africa’s parliament has scheduled the first meeting of an impeachment committee for Monday to investigate allegations linked to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s “Farmgate” scandal, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday.
The meeting marks the next stage in impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa, revived earlier this month by the Constitutional Court in a setback for the president, for whom the scandal has remained a major embarrassment.
Ramaphosa has denied wrongdoing in the affair, in which bundles of cash were stolen from a sofa at his farm in 2020, raising questions about the source of the money and why it had been hidden in furniture.
“The good thing is that parliament seems to be moving forward,” said DA parliamentary leader George Michalakis.
He said the committee’s first task would be to elect a chairperson, adding that the DA believes the position should not go to a member of the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
The DA is the second-largest party in the coalition government led by Ramaphosa’s ANC, but it has remained critical of the president and says it will hold him accountable should any wrongdoing be established.
A spokesperson for parliament and Ramaphosa’s spokesperson both declined to comment.
On Tuesday, Ramaphosa filed a legal challenge against an independent panel report that found preliminary evidence suggesting he may have committed misconduct, a move some legal analysts say could delay the impeachment process.
The president has also threatened to seek an urgent court order to halt the proceedings if parliament continues with the process while his legal challenge is pending.
The ANC holds about 40 percent of seats in the National Assembly, meaning it is likely to defeat any eventual impeachment vote, which would require a two-thirds majority to pass. The party’s leadership has publicly backed the president.
However, the ANC controls only nine of the 31 seats on the impeachment committee.
