South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has filed an urgent court application to block parliamentary impeachment proceedings linked to the "Farmgate" corruption scandal.
According to court documents, Ramaphosa wants the High Court to pause the inquiry until it rules on his separate appeal to dismiss an independent panel's findings of misconduct against him. This appeal is scheduled to be heard from September 2 to 4.
The Farmgate scandal surfaced after $580,000 in cash was stolen from Ramaphosa’s farmhouse in 2020. The president claims the money, which was hidden inside a sofa, came from the legitimate sale of buffaloes. However, the incident raised serious public questions about whether the funds were properly declared and why they were stashed in furniture instead of a bank.
While Ramaphosa has consistently denied any wrongdoing, South Africa’s Constitutional Court revived the impeachment proceedings last month. The court ruled that a 2022 parliamentary vote to halt the inquiry was illegal.
The 73-year-old president, whose second term ends in 2029, came to power in 2018 promising to fight corruption and restore the credibility of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party. The ongoing Farmgate scandal has severely dented that anti-corruption platform.
Despite the renewed inquiry, political analysts predict Ramaphosa will likely survive if the impeachment process goes to a final vote in parliament.
