The committee will take its appeal directly to the ConCourt.
Makashule Gana at Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on 21 May 2025. Picture: Gallo Images/Jeffrey Abrahams
The parliamentary impeachment committee established under Section 89 to probe the Phala Phala scandal has resolved to appeal a recent Western Cape High Court decision that granted an interdict in favour of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Chairperson Makashule Gana confirmed the development after the committee convened in a virtual meeting on Wednesday, 29 July 2026.
According to Gana, the committee will take its appeal directly to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt).
“We are going to file a notice as the committee to appeal to the Constitutional Court. That’s what we’re going to do.
“We’re going to have a conversation with the legal team to ensure that the papers are prepared,” the Rise Mzansi MP said in a video shared via X on Wednesday.
Several political parties, including the African Transformation Movement (ATM), the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), United Africans Transformation, and the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, are also seeking to overturn the ruling.
Phala Phala impeachment committee discussions
Gana indicated the meeting dealt with the terms of reference and the appointment of evidence leaders.
The committee further decided that the authors of the Section 89 independent panel report – chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Nqobo, alongside retired judge Thokozile Masipa and advocate Mahlape Sello – will not be required to appear before the committee to present or explain their findings.
“We had received a legal opinion that indicated that we don’t need to call the independent panel to come to the committee and that the evidence leaders will lead us through that report,” he confirmed.
The chairperson added the committee will reconvene next week after failing to complete its work on Wednesday due to time constraints.
“We are going to have meetings over two days on Wednesday and also on Friday so that we move as close as possible to finalising the preparatory work of the impeachment committee.”
Watch the meeting below:
Ramaphosa scores interdict against impeachment committee
Last week, the Western Cape High Court agreed to halt the public hearings of the impeachment committee, pending his review application against a Section 89 independent panel report.
Ramaphosa wants to overturn the panel’s findings after it concluded that he has questions to answer regarding the theft of approximately $580 000 (about R9.6 million) from his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in February 2020.
The review is set to be heard from 2 to 4 September by the Western Cape High Court.
The legal battle follows a ConCourt ruling in May this year, which found that Parliament had acted unlawfully when it blocked impeachment proceedings against the president in December 2022.
The National Assembly was, therefore, ordered to establish a formal impeachment committee to investigate the allegations further.
The committee is made up of 31 members of parliament from 16 political parties.
