Cyril Ramaphosa fights for his life

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa filed an urgent court application on Friday to stop the parliamentary impeachment process.

This parliamentary impeachment process is aimed at probing allegations related to his “Farmgate” scandal, court documents showed.

Ramaphosa wants the high court to first decide on a separate application he made to set aside the independent panel’s findings of misconduct over the scandal.

The Phala Phala scandal, often referred to as Farmgate, is one of the most significant political controversies surrounding Ramaphosa.

What began as a quiet housebreaking at his private game farm escalated to allegations of money laundering, institutional cover-ups, and abuse of state power.

Ramaphosa maintained that the money, which he stated was $580,000 hidden in a couch, was the legitimate proceeds from selling buffalo to a Sudanese businessman.

However, the episode raised questions about why the money was hidden in furniture and whether he had declared it.

The Constitutional Court revived impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa last month, finding that a parliamentary vote to halt the proceedings in 2022 was invalid.

The high court is due to hear his case against the misconduct findings from 2 September to 4 September 2026.

Farmgate has been a major embarrassment for him as he came to power on a pledge to fight corruption and clean up the image of his African National Congress (ANC) party.

However, most political analysts expect him to survive if the impeachment process goes to a vote in parliament.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will not resign

On 11 May 2026, Ramaphosa addressed the nation at the Union Buildings regarding the Phala Phala scandal.

He said he will not resign following the Constitutional Court judgment on the Section 89 impeachment process linked to the theft at his farm.

“I will not resign. To do so would be to preempt a process defined by the Constitution. To do so would be to give credence to a panel report that, unfortunately, has grave flaws.”

“To do so would be to abdicate the responsibility that I assumed when I became President of the Republic.”

“To resign now would be to give in to those who seek to reverse the renewal of our society, the rebuilding of our institutions and the prosecution of corruption,” he said.

The President said he remains committed to serving South Africans and completing the mandate entrusted to him.

“I fully intend to continue serving the people of South Africa and to advance their interests. There is still much work to be done,” he said.

Reporting with Reuters