CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South Africa’s Constitutional Court announced Thursday that it will hear a lawsuit brought by two opposition parties next month seeking to reopen impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa. His ranch was stolen.
Mr Ramaphosa was arrested in 2022 when his African National Congress party used its parliamentary majority to block a motion, despite an independent report questioning his conduct and recommending a thorough investigation. The impeachment vote was avoided.
The ANC has since been joined by nine other parties to form a broader coalition to govern South Africa, softening some of the criticism of Ramaphosa over the scandal.
But two parties that are not part of the unity government, the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters and the Movement for African Change, have filed papers with the country’s highest court, arguing that parliament is not properly fulfilling the president’s constitutional role. account.
The scandal broke in June 2022 and posed a threat to Prime Minister Ramaphosa’s leadership. It has been revealed that at least $580,000 in U.S. currency hidden in a couch at his Farah Farah hunting ranch was stolen more than two years ago and kept secret.
Ramaphosa has been accused by opposition parties of tax evasion, money laundering and violating foreign exchange laws. He denied wrongdoing and said the money came from the legal sale of animals at his ranch, but he did not explain why he hid it inside furniture.
They were also asked whether the theft was properly reported to police. Mr Ramaphosa said he reported it to the police chief of security but faced accusations of trying to cover up the theft and the existence of the cash.
Mr Ramaphosa was cleared of wrongdoing by the Reserve Bank and public watchdogs, but some opposition parties also questioned the decision.
Ramaphosa, 71, was re-elected for a second term in June, after the ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since South Africa became a democracy in 1994 following the end of apartheid. It was supported by opposition party members.
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