ConCourt rekindles Ramaphosa cash-in-sofa saga

South Africa's Constitutional Court has ruled that Parliament acted unconstitutionally when it set aside a report that could have paved the way for impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala burglary scandal.

Delivering the judgment in Johannesburg on Friday, Judge Mandisa Maya said the National Assembly's decision was "inconsistent with the Constitution, invalid and set aside."

The ruling effectively reopens political and legal scrutiny into how Ramaphosa handled the 2020 theft at his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo, where large sums of foreign currency were reportedly stolen.

The Constitutional Court case was brought by opposition parties, including the Economic Freedom Fighters and the African Transformation Movement, who challenged Parliament's decision to reject an independent panel report that found the president may have breached the Constitution.

The panel's findings, released in 2022, suggested Ramaphosa could have acted improperly in responding to the burglary. Although he considered stepping down at the time, he remained in office after receiving political backing from allies.

The scandal — widely referred to as the "cash-in-sofa" affair — erupted after allegations that at least $4 million was stolen from the farm. Ramaphosa has consistently denied wrongdoing, and later disclosures indicated the amount involved was about $580 000.

Markets reacted cautiously to the ruling, with the South African rand briefly strengthening before paring gains to trade around R16.44 to the US dollar in Johannesburg.

Analysts say the judgment could reopen the possibility of renewed impeachment proceedings, depending on how Parliament responds to the court's directive.

It also raises political stakes for the governing African National Congress (ANC), which lost its outright parliamentary majority in the 2024 elections and now leads a coalition government that depends on opposition support to pass key decisions and protect the presidency.

The case comes at a politically sensitive time, ahead of municipal elections expected within months and as internal succession dynamics within the ANC continue to intensify.

While the court ruling does not determine guilt or innocence, it restores legal force to a report that Parliament had previously dismissed — potentially setting the stage for renewed parliamentary debate over Ramaphosa's conduct and accountability.