The African Transformation Movement (ATM) and MK Party say they are committed to ensuring the Phala Phala impeachment process.
Image: IOL Graphics
Having overturned Parliament's dismissal of the Phala Phala scandal, the African Transformation Movement (ATM) and MK Party vow that the Impeachment Committee will maintain fairness and transparency, promising to publicly expose any attempts to politicise or block the investigation.
The parties said the committee must conduct a lawful, rational, and evidence-based inquiry that places constitutional accountability above political convenience.
This was after the ANC Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula, said the National Executive Committee (NEC) would instruct its MPs on how to vote and interact with parties within the Government of National Unity (GNU) regarding the impeachment process.
Mbalula confirmed that the NEC fully backs President Cyril Ramaphosa, adding that nobody will remove him.
This is after the National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza initiated the formal process to establish a 31-member Impeachment Committee, following a Constitutional Court (Concourt) directive instructing Parliament to process the Section 89 Independent Panel Report regarding Ramaphosa's Phala Phala farm scandal.
This was after the Concourt ruled that Parliament acted unconstitutionally in December 2022, when it used the ANC’s majority to block an impeachment inquiry against Ramaphosa.
The court ordered Parliament to refer the independent panel's report directly to an Impeachment Committee.
The committee will be composed of 31 members drawn from the 16 political parties represented in the National Assembly, constituted as follows: ANC (9); DA (5); MKP (3); EFF (2); IFP (1); PA (1); FF Plus (1); ActionSA (1); ACDP (1); UDM (1); RISE Mzansi (1); BOSA (1); ATM (1); Al-Jama-ah (1); NCC (1); and UAT (1)
ATM national spokesperson Zama Ntshona said the party believes that the credibility of this committee will ultimately be determined not by numerical dominance, but by whether Members of Parliament choose constitutional accountability over party political protectionism.
He added that the committee does not serve the ANC, the DA, or any political formation. It serves the Constitution and the people of South Africa.
“The mandate of the committee is to objectively assess whether sufficient evidence exists to support findings relating to serious violations of the Constitution or the law, serious misconduct and/or inability by the president to perform the functions of office in terms of Section 89 of the Constitution,” he said.
“The committee must conduct a lawful, rational, and evidence-based inquiry that places constitutional accountability above political convenience. This includes examining the conduct of the president, the actions of those acting under his authority, the use or abuse of state institutions, and whether Parliament previously failed in its oversight responsibilities,” added Ntshona, saying the ATM is not entering this process seeking political theatre or predetermined outcomes, but truth, accountability, and institutional integrity.
He said the committee must also examine whether there was any deliberate suppression of information, institutional interference, or misuse of executive influence to frustrate accountability processes.
“South Africans deserve a credible process grounded in facts, evidence, and constitutional principle, not another politically managed outcome designed to shield power from scrutiny.”
Meanwhile, the DA has announced it will not shield Ramaphosa from accountability.
The Phala Phala scandal officially began on June 1, 2022, when the former State Security Agency (SSA) Director-General Arthur Fraser walked into the Rosebank police station in Johannesburg to file a formal criminal complaint against Ramaphosa.
Fraser alleged that robbers colluded with a domestic worker to steal large sums of $4 million (later confirmed as $580,000) hidden inside the couch at Ramaphosa's private Phala Phala wildlife farm in Limpopo in February 2020.
The MK Party, on the other hand, said the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the South African Reserve Bank must be the first institutions to be called and explain themselves on how they handled the matter.
The party said this will be a way to hold the two institutions accountable.
MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said those who will be selected to represent the party will be expected to expose all the facts and demonstrate that Ramaphosa is guilty and should be impeached.
“We want to know where the couch is. The couch is an extensive tool to evidence, and how did police handle the issue of the couch?”
Ndhlela added that the party also wants to know how much money was left following the theft.
Questions were also sent to the EFF, and the party could not respond by the time of publication.