Ramaphosa seeks interdict to stop inquiry

President Cyril Ramaphosa has launched an urgent application for a stay of his impeachment inquiry. In an affidavit filed on Friday, Ramaphosa said he had ‘no choice’ but to institute the application. ‘This is because there is a possibility, and in fact a likelihood that the Impeachment Committee will begin the impeachment hearings before the court has made a decision on the review application.’ News24 notes he was referring to an application he launched in the same court to review and set aside the Ngcobo report, which had recommended he face an impeachment inquiry. He argued that this report is fundamentally flawed, saying the panel made several errors in law, among others.

In this latest application, Ramaphosa argued that if the impeachment process is allowed to proceed on the basis of a report whose validity is being challenged, it would cause him irreparable harm and prejudice. ‘I submit that, absent the interim interdictory relief, there is a high risk and in fact an inevitability of irreparable harm. This harm is neither speculative nor remote. It will arise immediately and directly from the commencement of the impeachment inquiry,’ he said. Should the report be found invalid, as he argues, Ramaphosa stated that the impeachment proceedings would have been ‘impermissible, wasteful and fruitless’. Ramaphosa was careful to frame his application as limited in scope, notes News24. ‘I do not suggest that the National Assembly should be prevented from exercising its powers in terms of Section 89 of the Constitution,’ he said. ‘The issue is whether the National Assembly and the Impeachment Committee should exercise those powers at a time when there is a legal dispute as to whether they actually have such powers, because the process is triggered by the report whose validity is presently the subject of review proceedings before this court.’ He added: ‘The relief I seek is temporary and carefully circumscribed. I do not suggest that there should be any impediment to the Impeachment Committee readying itself to potentially proceed with its work once the review proceedings are determined.’ The court documents stated that in the review application, Ramaphosa contends that the panel materially misdirected itself, misconstrued relevant evidence, adopted incorrect interpretations of applicable legal principles, and arrived at conclusions that are susceptible to review. ‘Whether these contentions are ultimately upheld is a matter for determination by the review court. At this point, the lawfulness and validity of the report are disputed in proceedings which are before this court,’ his affidavit reads.

Ramaphosa states that foreseeing possible prejudice, his legal team wrote to the Speaker and the chairperson of the Impeachment Committee, requesting them to stay the commencement of the impeachment hearing until the review application has been determined. The Speaker, however, responded to Ramaphosa’s attorneys, saying that committees of the National Assembly determine their own working arrangements and agenda, and then forwarded the letter to the Impeachment Committee chairperson, Rise Mzansi MP Makashule Gana, notes News24.  ‘The State Attorney, on behalf of the chairperson, advised that my request was not acceded to, and that the Impeachment Committee is continuing with its preparations for the process,’ Ramaphosa stated. ‘The purpose of this application is thus to preserve the status quo and protect the integrity of the pending review proceedings, so that the review court may grant effective relief should it set aside the report.’ He argued that he had no other recourse but to interdict the impeachment process.

Full News24 report