Parliament yesterday rejected the report by the independent Section 89 panel, which recommended that the national assembly consider instituting impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Led by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, the panel found that Ramaphosa may have an impeachment case to answer to surrounding his conduct in the theft of more that $500 000 from his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.

Parliament, in its special sitting yesterday, required 50%+1 of the house’s MPs to vote in support of the panel report for it to proceed with impeachment processes against Ramaphosa.

However, that threshold was not reached as most of the ANC MPs voted against the panel’s report.

Ramaphosa, who, following the release of the report more than a week ago, was rumoured to be on the verge of resigning, has been strengthened by Parliament’s rejection of the report.

The president, who is seeking re-election as ANC president at the party’s national elective conference, due to start on Friday, has been emboldened by Parliament’s decision.

Opposition MPs who were hoping that ANC MPs wanting Ramaphosa to be defeated at the conference would support the panel’s report, were disappointed after only five of the ANC MPs voted in favour of the report.

Five ANC MPs who voted yes

The five ANC MPs who voted in favour of the report include Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is in a bid to be elected as ANC president at the party’s national conference, former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo, former minerals minister Mosebenzi Zwane, and ANC Pietermaritzburg-based MP Mervyn Dirks.

The five ANC MPs voted in support of the panel’s report, despite a directive from the party’s national executive committee (NEC) that all ruling party MPs should reject it.

Gwede Mantashe speaks on the five MPs

ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe said Dlamini-Zuma and the other four ANC MPs have positioned themselves as opponents of the ruling party.

“They have opted out of the ANC. We will report to the ANC that five of the organisation’s MPs have voted with the opposition. We expect processes to follow,” said Mantashe, who is also the energy minister.

DA national parliament chief whip Siviwe Gwarube said the official opposition was weighing up its options following Parliament’s rejection of the panel report.

“We will not let this matter go. We will explore our legal and parliamentary options.”

Despite Parliament resolving not to institute impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa, the DA will continue with its efforts to have the house assemble an ad hoc committee to look into the Phala Phala robbery scandal.

Other opposition parties

The ATM is the political party that made an application to Parliament Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, for the national assembly to establish the Section 89 independent panel to investigate

The party said it was disappointed with yesterday’s special sitting outcome.

ATM MP Vuyo Zungula said Parliament’s decision to reject the report has ‘left South Africans in the dark on what actually transpired at the president’s farm’.

“The impeachment process would have either cleared the president or found him guilty. As things stand, South Africans are in the dark as to whether they have a president who is guilty or a president who is innocent.”

The ATM, Zungula said, will fight for the South African public to know the truth around the Phala Phala farm robbery scandal.

By turning down the ATM’s application for yesterday’s parliamentary voting process to be conducted through a secret ballot, a process which according to Zungula would have seen more ANC MPs voting in favour of the panel report, the speaker rendered the entire Parliamentary debate irregular.

“As the ATM, we will be going to court to have the speaker’s decision declared irrational.”

Ramaphosa has already approached the Constitutional Court as part of a bid to have the panel report reviewed.

However, FF+ MP Pieter Groenewald said the outcome of yesterday’s special sitting raised doubts as to whether Ramaphosa would continue with his ConCourt application.

“It could be that he went to the Constitutional Court as part of the ANC strategy to get Parliament to reject the panel report. Given today’s [yesterday] result, I won’t be surprised if he were to abandon the ConCourt application.”

Apart from Dlamini-Zuma, Ramaphosa also faces a challenge from former health minister Zweli Mkhize, who is in a bid to topple the ANC president at the five-day national elective conference, which will be held at Johannesburg’s Nasrec Expo Centre this weekend.

While Ramaphosa has been endorsed by eight of the nine provinces’ ANC branches, Mkhize’s supporters believe the former health minister will receive enough votes to dislodge the ANC president from power at the party’s national elective conference.