Johannesburg – Expelled African National Congress (ANC) member Carl Niehaus on Tuesday said he was in Cape Town to urge Members of Parliament to vote to impeach President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala farm adverse three-member panel report.
Ramaphosa denies any wrongdoing regarding the 2020 robbery on his Limpopo farm and has since approached the apex court to review the adverse report that said he “may have” breached his oath of office and the constitution.
Although the matter is pending before the Constitutional Court, today MPs are expected to debate and consider whether Ramaphosa should face an impeachment process or not.
The ANC has already instructed all its Members of Parliament – who are by far the majority in the National Assembly – to vote against any motion to impeach party leader Ramaphosa.
ANC senior members Supra Mahumapelo, Zweli Mkhize and Tony Yengeni have, however, publicly suggested that members should vote with their conscience.
Mahumapelo was removed as premier of the North West in 2018 amid allegations of corruption.
Yengeni was recently disqualified from taking part in the upcomming ANC elections over his conviction for fraud related to the arms deal. He is appealing the decision because he says his “conviction” was “expunged”.
It remains to be seen if Ramaphosa’s detractors in the ANC will vote with the opposition parties to enable them to garner enough numbers in a vote to begin the impeachment process.
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For now, all eyes remain on Parliament, where the media hype around the impeachment matter could likely turn out to be a damp squib.
The SA National Assembly has 400 seats:
