The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) has expressed its approval of the Constitutional Court’s significant decision that mandates Parliament to revisit its investigation into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm affair. However, the party cautioned that the court has exceeded its authority by instructing the National Assembly on how to manage its internal processes.
In a statement to the press, VF Plus leader Dr Corné Mulder stated that the party stands behind the court’s directive for the Independent Panel’s report, which identified substantial constitutional or legal breaches by the President, to be sent to a parliamentary committee for a more thorough investigation.
This ruling overturns the ruling party’s December 2022 vote (214 to 148) that rejected any further inquiry into the 2020 incident at Ramaphosa’s Limpopo game farm, where around $580,000 in foreign currency was reportedly stolen, raising concerns of potential cover-ups and misconduct.
Despite this, Mulder voiced substantial concern that the court’s ruling extended beyond merely requiring Parliament to take action. He suggested that the ruling indicates the entire Section 89 process for presidential removal should be “simplified,” which could render the independent expert panel unnecessary. This change would enable a removal motion to advance directly to a comprehensive parliamentary investigation without the need for an initial evaluation or a vote by the National Assembly regarding the inquiry into the panel’s conclusions.
“The Court has, therefore, not only ruled on what must happen but has also prescribed how the process should unfold in the future,” Mulder remarked. “This makes the Freedom Front Plus uncomfortable. The Court is encroaching too far into the domain of the legislature. It is in the interest of democracy that Parliament can act independently and without interference.”
While the ruling does not attribute any wrongdoing to the President and has been celebrated by opposition parties like the EFF and ATM as a win for accountability, the VF Plus maintains that it is essential to uphold the delicate equilibrium between judicial authority and parliamentary independence.
Parliament has been instructed to create a committee to review the report.
