Judgment on Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala interdict reserved, decision due within a week

The Western Cape High Court has reserved judgment in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s application seeking to stop an impeachment inquiry related to the Phala Phala matter, with a ruling expected by the end of next week.

Two-day hearing ends after closing arguments

The matter concluded after two days of hearing when closing arguments were delivered on Thursday morning. The case was heard by a full bench of judges André le Grange, Matthew Francis and Diane Davis.

Arguments from Ramaphosa’s counsel

Advocate Wim Trengove SC, appearing for President Ramaphosa, told the court the president should have received a more stringent assessment of the evidence before an impeachment inquiry began. Trengove compared the standard applied by the panel that produced the report to the National Prosecuting Authority’s prosecution policy, saying that prosecutors may only charge someone where there is enough admissible evidence for a reasonable prospect of conviction.

“Even in the case of an ordinary prosecution, the question is not whether there is a prima facie case,” Trengove said. “The question is whether there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable prospect of conviction. And the test is set at that standard, they say, to avoid unjustified prosecution.”

Trengove said the panel sat with what he described as a “mishmash” of information, including newspaper articles, hearsay statements and rumours, and argued those materials were not tested by the rules of evidence that apply in court.

“I don’t ask whether the president is guilty, but what I do ask is, taking into account all of the evidence, is there sufficient evidence to put the president on trial?” he said.

Responses from other counsel and preliminary points

Advocate Anton Katz SC, for the ATM, raised a preliminary point that, he said, undermined the competence of the relief sought. Katz told the bench that the Speaker’s affidavit showed the impeachment inquiry had already commenced in May before the application was launched on June 12.

“Once the horse has left the stable, you can’t stop the horse from leaving the stable. That’s it. That is done,” Katz said.

Advocate Dali Mpofu SC, for the MK Party, spoke on preliminary points for the respondents and criticised the judgment Trengove had relied on for his comparison to NPA standards.

Background from the panel report and next steps

The panel chaired by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo found in November 2022 that Ramaphosa had a case to answer over the theft of at least $580,000 from his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo. Ramaphosa has denied wrongdoing, saying the money came from the sale of buffaloes.

The president has asked the court to set aside the report behind the impeachment inquiry and to stop the inquiry from commencing its work until that challenge is decided. A separate review of the report is scheduled to be heard from 2 to 4 September.

The impeachment committee has not yet begun its work and has made no findings against the president.

What the court will decide

The Western Cape High Court must determine whether to grant the interdict stopping the committee from proceeding until the court has ruled on the challenge to the panel’s report. The bench has reserved judgment and indicated a ruling will follow by the end of next week.