SA Parliament agrees on Ramaphosa impeachment committee

South Africa's National Assembly of South Africa has agreed on the composition of the Section 89 committee that will determine whether there is prima facie evidence to institute impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phala Phala scandal.

The decision was reached during a meeting of the Chief Whips' Forum on Wednesday, with the committee set to comprise 31 members drawn from political parties represented in Parliament.

Under the agreed formula, the ruling African National Congress will hold nine seats, while the Democratic Alliance will have five seats.

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party will receive three seats and the Economic Freedom Fighters two seats.

The remaining 12 seats will be shared among smaller political parties.

The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania and GOOD will not be represented on the committee, with parties citing potential conflicts of interest because both participate in Ramaphosa's executive despite holding only one seat each in Parliament.

Parliament said the composition was guided by National Assembly Rule 154(1), which requires committee representation to broadly reflect party strength in the House.

"The effect of giving each party represented in the Assembly a minimum of one member to enable participation by all is that it skews the proportional strength of the House in favour of smaller parties," Parliament said in the document presented to party whips.

Thoko Didiza is expected to formally notify political parties to submit nominations for MPs who will serve on the panel.

A second proposal for a smaller 14-member committee was rejected. Under that option, the ANC would have held five seats, the DA three, the MK Party two and the EFF one, with the remaining parties sharing three seats collectively.

The latest development follows Ramaphosa's announcement earlier this week that he would seek a judicial review of the independent panel report after the Constitutional Court of South Africa overturned Parliament's 2022 decision that blocked impeachment proceedings.

The independent panel, chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, found there was prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have violated the Constitution and committed serious misconduct linked to the 2020 theft of foreign currency from his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.

Vuyo Zungula, leader of the African Transformation Movement, has also written to Didiza requesting that a motion of no confidence against Ramaphosa be tabled.

Zungula warned against attempts to weaken Parliament's oversight role through legal delays.

"The speaker of the National Assembly now carries a historic responsibility to defend the integrity of Parliament," he said.

He added that political parties committed to accountability should resist efforts to frustrate Parliament's constitutional obligations through procedural or legal manoeuvres.