Section 89 Committee takes Ramaphosa impeachment battle to ConCourt
Updated Aug. 4, 2026, 4:03 p.m. | By Mmangaliso Khumalo The committee argues the Western Cape High Court used the wrong legal test when granting an interim…
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Updated Aug. 4, 2026, 4:03 p.m. | By Mmangaliso Khumalo
The committee argues the Western Cape High Court used the wrong legal test when granting an interim interdict.
Parliament’s Section 89 Committee has on Tuesday escalated its legal battle over President Cyril Ramaphosa’s impeachment process, filing an application for direct access to the Constitutional Court to appeal a Western Cape High Court ruling that halted proceedings.
The move follows last week’s interim interdict granted to Ramaphosa, which temporarily halts the committee's impeachment hearings while the President challenges the findings of an independent parliamentary panel.
The committee, chaired by Makashule Gana, resolved by majority decision to challenge the ruling, despite divisions among members.
"The decision of the committee is that the Western Cape High Court judgment should be appealed; it is a split decision, but it is a decision nonetheless, and we will proceed with that appeal on behalf of the committee."
The High Court’s judgment effectively prevents the committee from proceeding with public hearings under National Assembly Rule 129M, pending the outcome of Ramaphosa’s review application.
In its application to the apex court, the committee argues that the High Court applied the wrong legal test when granting the interim interdict.
"Where a court is asked to restrain the exercise of public power pending review, it must ‘peek’ into the review, examine its grounds, and satisfy itself that the review is likely to succeed before granting relief. The majority declined to assess the prospects of the review and instead applied a lower threshold than the law requires."
The impeachment process stems from the findings of an independent panel appointed by the National Assembly, which concluded that Ramaphosa may have a case to answer regarding the 2020 theft of foreign currency at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.
Ramaphosa’s legal team has challenged those findings, arguing that the panel applied an incorrect legal standard in reaching its conclusions.
Last week, Gana confirmed that legal teams were preparing to escalate the matter urgently.
“Legal and everyone else will start working on that decision to ensure that the papers are then submitted to the Constitutional Court, so that we can get clarity and certainty on how the process should proceed."
The committee is continuing its internal work, including addressing outstanding procedural issues such as the appointment of evidence leaders and finalising its terms of reference.
The Constitutional Court will now have to decide whether to grant the committee direct access and hear the appeal, a move that could provide clarity on the scope of Parliament’s impeachment powers and the extent to which courts can intervene in legislative processes.
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