Court hears Ramaphosa appeal against report that triggered possible impeachment

Cyril Ramaphosa’s legal battle over the Phala Phala farm scandal returned to court Wednesday, as judges began hearing the South African president’s appeal against a report that set an impeachment process in motion.

The case concerns a 2022 report by an independent panel, which found that Ramaphosa may have committed a serious violation of anti-corruption laws. At a hearing in the Western Cape High Court, his lawyer Wim Trengove argued that the panel failed to weigh incriminating evidence against exculpatory material in a balanced way.

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no attempt to weigh, balance or consider the incriminating evidence against the exculpatory evidence

Trengove said the report contained extensive evidence, including Ramaphosa’s own responses, but relied on incriminating material, and sometimes mere statements, when reaching its decisive conclusion that there was a prima facie case. He argued that South African law requires bad faith for a serious breach of the kind alleged, and said the evidence and the president’s statements ruled that out.

The defense also challenged the allegation that Ramaphosa breached the Constitution by carrying out other paid professional work. The lawyer said the law allows officials to own shares in companies and maintained that Ramaphosa never received payment from the farm at the center of the case.

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sufficient evidence

The Phala Phala property in Limpopo became the focus of the investigation after almost 4 million euros in cash was reported stolen there on Feb. 9, 2020. The president put the amount at $580,000, or about 509,000 euros at the current exchange rate. He acknowledged the theft and said the money came from his game-animal sales business, where cash payments are common, rather than money laundering as alleged by former intelligence chief Artur Fraser.

A minority party’s 2022 motion led to the panel’s creation. Parliament, then dominated by Ramaphosa’s party, rejected the report and halted the possible impeachment process, but the proceedings have since resumed.

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prima facie