By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday survived a vote in Parliament on whether to begin impeachment proceedings that could ultimately force him from office following a series of scandals and corruption allegations.
After a heated debate, his ruling African National Congress (ANC) party defeated the motion by 214 votes to 148, with two abstentions through open voting.
Last week, he secured the renewed backing of the ANC, which holds 230 of the National Assembly’s 400 seats, after mounting a legal bid to have the damning report annulled.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola trashed the report saying “there is not sufficient evidence to impeach the president.”
“The panel report has set the bar too low to impeach a sitting president,” he said.
The ANC national executive had vowed last week to shoot down any attempt to force Ramaphosa from office.
That decision upset some, who said the executive had forced their hand.
A few ANC lawmakers, including Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma – Ramaphosa’s rival, a cabinet minister and Zuma’s former wife – defied the party command.
Opposition parties presented a largely united front on the issue.
Julius Malema, the fiery leader of the second largest opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party, expressed “deepest disappointment” in Ramaphosa who was once a “celebrated … architect” of South Africa’s constitution.
He said Ramaphosa was now “peeing” on that document, calling him a “constitutional delinquent.”
This comes four days before the ANC’s national conference, where Ramaphosa is contesting to remain the party’s president, with disgraced former health minister Zweli Mkhize his biggest challenger.
Tuesday’s vote followed an independent panel, chaired by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, which found that Ramaphosa had a prima facie case to answer regarding the theft of foreign currency stuffed in a couch at his game farm, Phala Phala.
Ramaphosa failed to convince the panel that, after the burglary, he had acted in accordance with the law and the Constitution.
Ramaphosa has taken the panel’s report on legal review directly to the Constitutional Court, but this didn’t stop Parliament from dealing with the matter.
A legal opinion to Parliament stated they may proceed with the process, irrespective of Ramaphosa’s legal challenge.
Phala Phala became a burning issue in June after the former director-general at the State Security Agency, Arthur Fraser, opened a kidnapping and money laundering case against Ramaphosa, Presidential Protection Unit head Major-General Wally Rhoode, and Crime Intelligence members for allegedly concealing a burglary at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in February 2020.
Ramaphosa acknowledged the theft of $580,000 in cash that was stashed under sofa cushions at his farm.