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Phala Phala farm in Limpopo
Deputy Justice Minister Andries Nel says the Constitutional Court ruling on the Phala Phala matter demonstrates the effectiveness of South Africa’s Constitution in reinforcing accountability.
On Friday, the court ruled that the National Assembly had acted unlawfully in 2022 when it voted to reject a report of an independent panel.
The report had recommended an impeachment inquiry into President Cyril Ramaphosa regarding a theft at his Phala Phala farm in Bela-Bela, Limpopo, in February 2020.
Nel says the ruling shows that the constitution is a robust legal document.
“There we have a president in respect of whom the highest court makes pronouncements about a parliamentary process. In how many countries would the president have gone off and attacked the judge, insinuated bias, and told them that they were talking nonsense? What does our president do? The first thing he does is to say, ‘I respect the judgement.’ I will abide by that judgement. Maybe it’s because it happens so often that we take it for granted. But that is not the norm in the world.”
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Civil society organisation Corruption Watch has hailed the Constitutional Court judgment on the Phala Phala matter, saying it came at a significant time in the country’s constitutional democracy.
Corruption Watch’s executive director Lebogang Ramafoko says, “When they ignored that report, that the President indeed- there is prima facie evidence that he’s got the case to answer to- we saw that there are no rules and regulations, but that depending on who you are, they can be applied selectively.”
“It is very important, as stated within even our 2030 strategy, that in this country, we have a lack of transparency and accountability. It was so symbolic that this judgment was given on the 30th anniversary of the Constitution,” adds Ramafoko.
Phala Phala | Corruption Watch, OUTA welcomes ruling
