Cape Town – A parliamentary sub-committee has provisionally adopted a new set of rules to govern the upcoming Section 89 impeachment inquiry into allegations linked to President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Phala Phala farm saga.
The move follows a ruling by the Constitutional Court of South Africa ordering Parliament to establish an impeachment committee after the National Assembly declined to proceed with such an inquiry in 2022.
Sub-committee chairperson Doris Mpapane said the rules-making process would not delay preparations for the inquiry.
However, tensions emerged during discussions, with the MK Party expressing concern that finalising rules could stall the impeachment process.
External legal counsel Andrew Breitenbach advised that witness testimony should not begin until the rules are formally adopted.
The sub-committee also failed to reach agreement on a proposal by the Democratic Alliance that only MPs deemed “fit and proper” should serve on the impeachment committee.
The committee agreed to seek an external legal opinion on the matter. The draft rules will now be considered by Parliament’s Rules Committee next week before being submitted to the National Assembly for final approval.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
