Ramaphosa mounts legal challenge to block revived impeachment push

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has launched a legal bid to halt a renewed push to impeach him, a counteroffensive that weaves his political survival into the credibility of the country's most respected institutions. The challenge comes nearly two weeks after the Constitutional Court ordered parliament to restart an impeachment inquiry into his handling of the theft of $580,000 in cash hidden inside a sofa at his Phala Phala private game farm. In a sworn affidavit, Ramaphosa asked judges to overturn the 2022 independent panel's finding that he may have committed serious misconduct, calling the conclusion “irrational” and based on “hearsay.”

The president pointed to previous investigations by the National Prosecuting Authority, the tax agency, the central bank and the Public Protector — all of which cleared him of wrongdoing. A guilty verdict in the impeachment process, analysts say, could cast a long shadow over those bodies, potentially eroding public trust and investor confidence in Africa's most industrialized economy. Ramaphosa’s legal strategy is seen as a high-stakes gamble: if he wins, it could reinforce the autonomy of South Africa’s watchdog institutions; if he loses, it could deepen political instability and derail his reform agenda ahead of next year’s elections.