South African opposition leader Julius Malema has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign after the Constitutional Court ruled that parliament had violated the constitution by blocking moves to impeach him in 2022.
The judgment follows a legal challenge by Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and others, and could result in fresh impeachment proceedings. Ramaphosa’s office said he respects the judgment.
In 2022, an independent panel said Ramaphosa may have a case to answer after burglars stole $580,000 (£430,000) in cash hidden in a sofa at his rural home.
The theft led to allegations that he had not accounted for where the cash had come from. The president denied wrongdoing.
However, impeachment proceedings were blocked four years ago in a parliamentary vote. At the time, Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) had a majority in parliament, but since the 2024 general election, the ANC has been governing in a coalition.
Following the judgment, Ramaphosa’s office said he “reaffirms his commitment to the Constitution, the independence of the Judiciary and the rule of law”.
The statement said the president had been “consistent in providing his full assistance” to all inquiries into the matter.
“President Ramaphosa maintains that no person is above the law and that any allegations should be subjected to due process without fear, favour or prejudice.”
The ANC also released a statement to similar effect, adding on X that the judgment shows “the importance of allowing institutions to function independently” within South Africa’s constitutional democracy.
Speaking to reporters outside the court in Johannesburg earlier, Malema said Ramaphosa should resign and “concentrate on this impeachment process because it has got serious implications on him as an individual”.
“You cannot serve the two — one is going to suffer,” he explained, referring to being president and preparing for impeachment.
The EFF took the case to the country’s highest court alongside the African Transformation Movement in 2024.
Malema, who is facing his own difficulties as he appeals against a sentence for the illegal possession of a gun and firing it in public, said members of Ramaphosa’s ANC will impeach him because “the evidence will be before their eyes”.
His party has written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, asking for a “clear indication, within the next 48 hours, of specific steps” she intends to take following the judgment, South Africa’s News24 website reported.
Geordin Hill-Lewis, the leader of the Democratic Alliance, the second-largest party in the governing coalition, said politicians must “uphold the rule of law”, and that parliament’s impeachment committee “must now do its work properly, rationally, fairly and constitutionally”.
This saga — dubbed “Farmgate” by local media — began in 2020 after the $580,000 was allegedly stolen from Phala Phala, Ramaphosa’s farm in the northern Limpopo province.
Two years later, an independent panel found evidence that the president may have violated his oath of office, but in a debate focused on its conclusions, parliament voted 214 to 148 against setting up an impeachment committee.
South Africa has strict rules on holding foreign currency, requiring it to be deposited with an authorised dealer, such as a bank, within 30 days. At the time, Ramaphosa said the cash came from the sale of a buffalo.
Three people are currently on trial for the alleged theft.
English 