The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has scored a major legal victory in the controversial Phala Phala matter after the Constitutional Court ruled that Parliament acted unlawfully in its handling of the process involving President Cyril Ramaphosa. Delivering judgment in Braamfontein, Chief Justice Mandisa Maya said Rule 129 of the National Assembly Rules is inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore invalid. The apex court also declared the National Assembly’s vote on the independent panel report unconstitutional and invalid. “The National Assembly…

The political fallout from the Constitutional Court’s landmark Phala Phala judgment continues to intensify, with opposition parties sharpening their positions against President Cyril Ramaphosa and analysts warning of growing pressure on the governing African National Congress. The Constitutional Court ruled that Parliament acted inconsistently with the Constitution when it dismissed the Section 89 independent panel report into the Phala Phala scandal. The court declared the National Assembly’s vote invalid and ordered Parliament to amend Rule 129 and refer the matter…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed not to resign and stressed that he did nothing wrong following the Constitutional Court judgment into allegations relating to the theft at his Phala Phala farm in February 2020. Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Monday night in response to Friday’s Constitutional Court judgment, which found that Parliament’s impeachment vote on the matter was invalid and unconstitutional. The case was brought by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the African Transformation Movement (ATM), who argued that…