Ramaphosa bought time, not accountability: Maphosa

Legal and governance expert, Leo Maphosa, says that while President Cyril Ramaphosa has bought himself more time by securing an interdict to temporarily halt Parliament’s impeachment proceedings, the ruling does not shield him from accountability.

The Western Cape High Court granted Ramaphosa an interim interdict, suspending the impeachment process pending the outcome of his review application challenging the Section 89 Independent Panel report, which found that he has a case to answer over the Phala Phala scandal.

In handing down the ruling, Judge Andre Le Grange ordered Parliament’s Impeachment Committee not to proceed with any public hearings until the review application has been determined.

Ramaphosa approached the Western Cape High Court after the Constitutional Court ruled that Parliament acted unlawfully when it voted against adopting the Section89 panel report.

Maphosa says the ruling delays the impeachment process but does not resolve the underlying questions arising from the Phala Phala matter.

He says the case has grown beyond the scandal itself and now centres on defining the constitutional relationship between Parliament and the judiciary.

“There is a profound constitutional difference between interrupting accountability and extinguishing it. The allegations remain alive. The constitutional questions remain unanswered.

“The public interest remains undiminished. Only the constitutional clock has, for the moment, been stopped.”

Maphosa added that while the Constitution entitles a president to challenge decisions through the courts, leadership sometimes requires rising above litigation.

“This is where the politics become uncomfortable. President Ramaphosa came to office on the promise of a new dawn.

“He promised South Africans a decisive break from an era defined by delay, opacity, and what became known as the Stalingrad strategy, using legal process after legal process to postpone political accountability. To be absolutely clear, I am not saying President Ramaphosa is repeating that history. The comparison is not legal.”

Meanwhile, Parliament’s Impeachment Committee Chairperson, Makashule Gana, says the committee will study the judgement before deciding on its next step.

The committee had already entered the preparatory phase, with political parties expected to finalise nominations for an evidence leader and to adopt the terms of reference.

“We now await the full judgement which we will study, and we will be able to give further updates in terms of the work that the committee still has to do. As soon as we have studied the full judgement, we will be able to give further updates.”

DA MP and committee member, Advocate Glynnis Breytenbach, says the order suspends only the public hearings and may still allow the committee to continue with certain preparatory aspects of the impeachment process.

“The judge made an interesting comment, so there may well be witnesses we have to hear in camera, and we can perhaps proceed with those.”

ActionSA, on the other hand, has expressed concern over the Western Cape High Court’s decision, arguing Parliament should not be prevented from exercising its constitutional mandate.

The party says Parliament has the constitutional authority to determine whether a president has violated the oath of office, not the judiciary or the executive.

ActionSA Parliamentary Chief Whip, Lerato Ngobeni, says the judgment could undermine Parliament’s constitutional powers.

“In our view, Parliament should have been allowed to continue discharging its constitutional oversight responsibilities while the substantive legal issues are determined.”

A dangerous precedent is being and one that will haunt South Africa for generations to come #PhalaPhala https://t.co/HBvfXBp9Md

— Kim Heller (@kimheller3) July 24, 2026

The Western Cape High Court has granted President Ramaphosa an interim order pausing Parliament’s Section 89 impeachment hearings on the Phala Phala matter.

We move .👍🏾 pic.twitter.com/gmFfcAeUo5

— Zenzo (@Ndaba_2025) July 24, 2026

Cyril Ramaphosa Is the Law: he had 5 years to review Phala-phala report but he didn’t. The Western Cape grants him an interdict anyway.

— knick (@Knick_RSA) July 24, 2026

Great news… Let the man finish his term and put all these criminals in jail… Remember, Mkhwanazi said last year “Some of the MPs are actively working with the criminal syndicates and cartels…” This whole Phala-Phala situation might be thier escape route. Press harder… https://t.co/0FvEwl02m4

— Bra Zwai(37+) 🧑‍💻 (@zwai_ndimba) July 24, 2026