Parliament’s Section 89 Impeachment Committee has elected RISE Mzansi MP Makashule Gana as its chairperson as it begins considering whether President Cyril Ramaphosa should face impeachment over the Phala Phala scandal.
“We will be in communication with all the members of the committee in terms of the next processes to be taken. The meeting is adjourned,” Gana said after his election.
Gana received 19 votes, defeating United African Transformation (UAT) leader Wonderboy Mahlatse, who secured 12 votes.
ANC MP Mikateko Mahlaule nominated Gana. Democratic Alliance MP George Michalakis seconded the nomination.
Economic Freedom Front (EFF) MP Omphile Maotwe nominated UAT’s Mahlatse and United Democratic Movement MP Nqabayomzi Lawrence Kwankwa seconded it.
Parliamentary Communication Services officer Faith Ndenze said the election marked the start of the committee’s work.
“The committee will now turn its attention to determining its programme of work and the next steps in the inquiry process. Details of future meetings and activities will be communicated in due course,” she said.
Gana was backed by parties aligned with the government of national unity (GNU), many of which have opposed calls for Ramaphosa’s impeachment. Mahlatse was supported by opposition parties, including the EFF and the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, which have called for the president’s removal.
National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza established the 31-member committee after the Constitution Court rendered the 2022 vote against the impeachment illegal.
The committee has been tasked to investigate whether Ramaphosa violated the Constitution or engaged in misconduct in a scandal that saw $580 000 stolen from his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.
Ramaphosa is reported to have stated that he would not oppose the interim findings of the impeachment committee.
However, he is challenging the Phala Phala independent panel’s report in the Western Cape High Court, arguing that the panel misunderstood its mandate and the legal threshold required under section 89 of the Constitution
The independent panel found prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa might have committed serious violations of the Constitution and the law in relation to foreign currency stolen from his Phala Phala game farm.
The committee’s composition is based on proportional party representation with the inclusion of smaller parties. The ANC holds nine seats on the committee, the DA five and the MK Party three.
The EFF has two seats. Twelve smaller parties, among them the Inkatha Freedom Party, Patriotic Alliance, ActionSA, Freedom Front Plus, RISE Mzansi and Build One South Africa, each hold one seat.
The GOOD Party and the Pan Africanist Congress opted not to take part because their only MPs serve in the national executive.
Control of the committee chairmanship was closely contested. Parties in the GNU supported Gana’s nomination, while the Progressive Caucus, which comprises the MK Party, EFF, African Transformation Movement and UAT, backed Mahlatse.
If the committee concludes that Ramaphosa committed and engaged in serious misconduct, it could recommend his removal from office.
The recommendation would then be tabled before the National Assembly, where the removal of a president requires the support of at least two-thirds of MPs.
Parties in the GNU supported Gana’s nomination, while the Progressive Caucus, which comprises the MK Party, EFF, African Transformation Movement and UAT, backed Wonderhoy Mahlatse
