EFF says ANC is deliberately stalling Phala Phala impeachment committee to shield Ramaphosa

Why the committee is delayed

The ANC missed Speaker Thoko Didiza’s 22 May deadline to name MPs for the 31‑member impeachment committee, a missed deadline that has put the committee’s work on hold. According to Citizen, the delay stemmed from a clash between chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli and secretary‑general Fikile Mbalula over representation.

The ANC holds nine seats on the 31‑member committee. The Democratic Alliance, MK party and the EFF have already submitted their nominees, while the ANC is the only party yet to do so, Citizen reports.

EFF response and accusations

EFF spokesman Sinawo Thambo rejected suggestions that internal ANC infighting is to blame and accused the party of a deliberate political cover‑up.

“The real issue is not ANC infighting. The real issue is that the ANC is refusing to deploy members to the impeachment committee because it seeks to delay and frustrate the work of the committee itself,” said Sinawo Thambo.

Thambo said withholding nominees amounts to an effort to “deliberately undermine” implementation of Section 89 and to frustrate the lawful functioning of Parliament. He also pointed to reports of a meeting between Speaker Thoko Didiza and ANC leaders and legal representatives who previously defended Ramaphosa in the Constitutional Court on the Phala Phala matter, calling the timing suspicious.

Practical impact

An unnamed insider warned that delays in submitting names prevent the committee from being constituted, electing a chairperson and setting a programme, and that such delays are not in the public interest, Citizen reported.

Sources within the ANC reportedly differ on preferred nominees: Mdumiseni Ntuli is said to favour experienced MPs who served on previous ad hoc committees, while Fikile Mbalula is said to prefer figures such as Doris Mpapane, Donald Selamolela and Boyce Maneli, the Citizen account says.

What happens next

With the ANC yet to name its representatives, the committee cannot be formally constituted and cannot begin its work. The EFF has framed the delay as a deliberate tactic to weaken the impeachment process before it starts; the ANC has not provided a public explanation for the missed deadline in the reporting cited here.