The committee is seeking a new chair to lead the Section 89 inquiry into the 2020 Phala Phala theft of $580,000.
MK party leader Jacob Zuma. Picture: MK party.
The MK party has accused the Section 89 Impeachment Committee of “majoritarian abuse” after it overturned its own decision to appoint Advocate Thandazani Madonsela SC as Evidence Leader in the inquiry into President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The section 89 committee on Tuesday morning, by a majority vote, rescinded Madonsela’s recommendation after the legal services reviewed Ramaphosa’s formal objection.
New evidence leader
The committee has given the 31 members of parliament from 16 political parties until Friday to make more nominations for its chief evidence leader.
MK party spokesperson Sifiso Mahlangu said the committee, led by the ANC, DA and their Government of National Unity (GNU) partners – had “defeated logic and constitutional purpose through sheer majoritarianism” by reopening a settled appointment at the request of the president, who is the subject of the inquiry.
Madonsela’s appointment
According to the MK Party, the facts surrounding Madonsela’s appointment were clear and undisputed. Madonsela disclosed that he had served as Ramaphosa’s representative to the Judicial Service Commission until 2022, withdrawing amicably and without acrimony.
He also disclosed that he supervised a legal opinion provided to the ANC by a junior advocate in June 2026. Parliamentary Legal Services found the disclosure immaterial and not constituting a conflict of interest.
ANC
Mahlangu said ANC members on the committee had been aware of the disclosure and raised no objections at the time, while opposition parties also found no conflict.
“It was only after Mr Ramaphosa wrote to the committee complaining of possible bias that his party members suddenly wanted to review the appointment,” he said. “This is manufactured perception.”
The MK Party said the reversal confirmed its longstanding objection to the committee’s chairperson, arguing that an independent chair would not have reopened a nomination based on a complaint from the very person under investigation.
GNU
Mahlangu said the move exposed “institutional alignment” in a committee chaired by an ANC nominee, seconded by the DA and elected by the GNU bloc.
“Section 89 is not ordinary committee business,” Mahlangu said. “It is a critical constitutional safeguard against presidential misconduct.
“The Constitutional Court warned in its 2026 judgment that the impeachment mechanism must not be vulnerable to majoritarian abuse. That is exactly what happened today,” he said.
Review
He said the governing majority had “run roughshod over a legal opinion and over reason to protect its leader,” adding that the MK party, as the official opposition, would not accept the decision.
“We reserve all rights, including an urgent legality review, to defend the credibility of this historic accountability process,” Mahlangu said.
