By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Constitutional Court has denied direct access to political parties and Parliament’s Section 89 committee seeking to urgently appeal the ruling that halted public impeachment hearings against President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Western Cape High Court granted Ramaphosa an interim order stopping public hearings pending a review of the independent panel report on Phala Phala farmgate scandal.
Political Parties including the ATM, EFF, MK Party, and UAT launched urgent direct appeals to the Constitutional Court to set aside the interdict. The Section 89 parliamentary impeachment committee had also resolved to join the fray to set aside the interdict.
Whether the Constitutional Court had to grant direct access depended on strict legal requirements:
- Constitutional Urgency: Applicants had to prove that the matter involves a crucial constitutional issue and that dealing with it immediately is in the interest of justice.
- Separation of Powers: Parties had to argue that lower court interdicts improperly interfere with Parliament’s core oversight duties, creating exceptional circumstances that justify bypassing normal appeal procedures.
- Prevention of Delay: Proponents of direct access maintain that allowing a legal review to indefinitely stall an impeachment inquiry sets a damaging precedent for future accountability measures, requiring swift intervention from the highest court.
The apex court ruled that hearing the matter is not in the interests of justice because the upcoming review application will render the interim interdict moot.
In an order handed down on Wednesday, “the Constitutional Court said it’s not in the interest of justice to hear the matter at this stage.”
The ruling means all the aggrieved parties will have to wait for the review outcome set to be heard from September 2 to September 4, while Ramaphosa has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
While the Section 89 panel indicated that Ramaphosa might have breached the constitution and his oath of office, he has consistently asserted his innocence.
He is seeking to overturn a judicial panel’s finding that his handling of the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars, hidden in a couch at his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo province, was unlawful.