South Africa’s Constitutional Court has handed a massive legal victory to the EFF and the African Transformation Movement (ATM). In a landmark judgment delivered Friday, May 8, 2026, the apex court found that Parliament acted unconstitutionally when it voted to reject the Section 89 independent panel report into the Phala Phala scandal in December 2022.
The ruling officially revives the impeachment path against President Cyril Ramaphosa. The court determined that the National Assembly cannot summarily dismiss the Section 89 report, which found prima facie evidence that he may have violated his oath of office. Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, handing down the ruling, declared the previous vote inconsistent with the Constitution and officially set it aside.
Chief Justice Mandisa Maya orders formal impeachment committee
By setting aside the 2022 vote, the court has removed the political barrier the ANC previously erected. Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, as shown in the X post below, was explicit in the court’s directive, ordering that the findings against the President must now undergo formal scrutiny.
“It is declared that the vote of the National Assembly taken on 13 December 2022, declining to refer the report of the independent panel to an impeachment committee as envisaged in the NA rules, is inconsistent with the Constitution, invalid and it is set aside,” Chief Justice Maya ruled.
“The report of the independent panel is referred to the impeachment committee established in terms of the NA rules.”
The political landscape has shifted dramatically since the original 2022 vote. Because the ANC lost 30 year majority rule in 2024 elections, the governing party can no longer rely on numerical dominance to protect the President. The revived inquiry now moves to an impeachment committee where the evidence must be tested ina lawful parliamentary process.
EFF slams ANC majoritarianism and judicial delays
The Phala Phala scandal centres on the February 2020 theft of $580,000 in foreign currency from Ramaphosa’s Limpopo game farm. Questions regarding the failure to report the theft to police and the alleged use of state resources to track the suspects have dogged the Presidency for years.
In a scathing statement following the announcement, the EFF celebrated the judgment as a victory for the Constitution over “political interests.” The party noted that the ruling arrived exactly 521 days after the matter was argued, following intense pressure and pickets led by the Red Berets.
”At the centre of this case is the EFF’s demand that Parliament must properly process and consider the Section 89 report instead of allowing political interests and ANC majoritarianism to suppress accountability,” the party stated.
The EFF further argued that they remained the “lone and consistent voice” demanding transparency while others sought to preserve the image of the President. They criticised civil society organisations for their silence, asserting that “accountability in South Africa is not automatic but must be demanded through struggles.”
Ramaphosa vows to respect Constitutional Court ruling
Ahead of the judgment, President Ramaphosa took a measured tone, reiterating his commitment to the rule of law. Speaking to reporters in Johannesburg, he emphasised that the independence of the judiciary remains a cornerstone of the country’s democracy.
”With regard to the Constitutional Court, it’s the court’s decision that will be announced and I have no view on that,” Ramaphosa said. “Whatever the courts decide is what the court decides. Respect of our judiciary is sacrosanct and must be regarded as such.”
Despite his stated respect for the bench, the President now faces a renewed political firestorm. With the matter returning to a fragmented Parliament, opposition parties are already mobilising to ensure the Section 89 inquiry proceeds without the “majoritarian suppression” that the court has now declared unconstitutional.
