South African president mounts legal challenge against report that could lead to impeachment

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has started a ineligible situation against a study commissioned by parliament that has paved the mode for MPs to erstwhile again see impeachment proceedings against him.

In 2022, an autarkic sheet said Ramaphosa mightiness person committed superior misconduct relating to the theft of ample sums of currency hidden successful a sofa astatine his backstage farm. The president denied immoderate wrongdoing.

At that clip Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC) enactment had a parliamentary majority.

But since the wide predetermination successful 2024, it has governed arsenic portion of a conjugation aft losing its majority.

In Ramaphosa's ineligible situation filed connected Tuesday astatine the High Court successful Cape Town, the president said the sheet had "misconceived its mandate, misjudged the accusation placed earlier it and misinterpreted the 4 charges precocious against me".

The charges included violating the constitution and superior misconduct.

"I bash not marque this exertion lightly," the president says successful the tribunal submission, arguing that the study should beryllium acceptable aside, thereby annulling the impeachment process.

The Speaker of parliament has already formed the impeachment committee, made-up of 31 MPs from 16 governmental parties, including 9 from the ANC, the starring subordinate of the governing coalition.

The committee volition determine whether determination are grounds to commencement impeachment proceedings.

This saga - dubbed "Farmgate" by section media - began successful 2020, aft $580,000 (£430,000) had allegedly been stolen from Phala Phala, Ramaphosa's workplace successful the bluish Limpopo province.

Two years later, the autarkic sheet recovered grounds that the president whitethorn person violated his oath of bureau and concluded that helium had "a lawsuit to answer".

South Africa has strict rules connected holding overseas currency, which accidental that it indispensable beryllium deposited with an authorised trader specified arsenic a slope wrong 30 days. At the time, Ramaphosa said the currency was from the morganatic merchantability of buffalo from his farming business.