By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The parliamentary party whips have agreed to establish a 31-member panel to conduct an impeachment inquiry into President Cyril Ramaphosa.
This follows the Constitutional Court ruling on May 8, 2026, which declared the 2022 blockage of the Phala Phala report invalid.
Under the agreement, the ANC will hold nine seats on the committee, the DA five, the MK Party three and the EFF two. The PAC and GOOD etc. will hold one each.
In a statement on Wednesday, 13 May 2026, Parliament said the Committee would be composed of 31 members drawn from the 16 political parties represented in the National Assembly.
Political parties have been requested to submit to the National Assembly Secretariat the names of their members who will serve on the Committee.
They have until the close of business on Friday, 22 May 2026.
“In determining the composition of the Impeachment Committee, the Speaker considered not only the Constitutional principle of proportional representation, but also the need for inclusivity and broad participation in this unprecedented parliamentary process,” Parliament said.
This committee will investigate, establish the veracity of the charges against the President and make a recommendation via a report to the National Assembly.
The House then schedules the report for urgent debate and decision.
If the report recommends that the President be removed from office, it will be put to a vote. Two-thirds of members of the National Assembly need to support the motion to have the President removed.
Meanwhile the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) rejects the composition of impeachment committee.
Cosatu Parliamentary spokesperson Matthwe Parks believes the ANC which in proportion to its representation is entitled to at least 12 Members or 40%, instead it has been allocated 9 or 30%.
Parks says this directly undermines the electorate which saw fit in the 2024 national elections to provide the ANC with 40% of the seats in Parliament. Any attempt to dilute the will of the electorate in the composition of Parliamentary Committees not only undermines its own rules but is in direct conflict with the Constitutional requirement of proportional representation in Parliament and its Committees.
It is a shocking attempt to negate the will of the public and is ripe for legal challenge. It is rank political amateurishness at best, and constitutional vandalism at worst, added Parks.”