The Democratic Alliance has affirmed that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s application to review the independent Phala Phala panel report will not impede Parliament’s constitutional impeachment process.
DA spokesperson Jan de Villiers confirmed the party notes the President’s formal submission to the Western Cape High Court seeking to set aside the panel’s findings. However, de Villiers emphasized that the legal move does not constitute an interdict and therefore cannot halt the work of the Section 89 Committee established to consider impeachment proceedings.
“The Constitutional Court was quite clear that the processes that form the impeachment committee must now continue and that it must go forward,” de Villiers stated. “Only an interdict by a court could potentially stop that. But it does not seem like there’s any intention at least at this stage of the president to ask for such an interdict.”
The development follows a Constitutional Court ruling that Parliament acted incorrectly when it previously blocked impeachment proceedings against the President regarding the Phala Phala matter.
De Villiers reiterated the DA’s commitment to accountability and due process, noting that no individual, including the head of state, is above the law. He clarified that while the party respects the President’s right to pursue legal review, the DA has not prejudged the outcome of the parliamentary committee’s work.
“We as the DA have also not made up our minds about what the outcome of such a committee’s process must be,” de Villiers said. “Whatever the outcome is, we cannot prejudge it. We will transparently follow the evidence and we will not let the fact that we are in a coalition government in any way influence what is right or wrong.”
The DA holds five seats on the Section 89 Committee. De Villiers confirmed that the party’s nominated members are experienced parliamentarians who will approach their duties with impartiality.
“They will be 100% impartial in the way that they engage in the committee and in the way that they look at the evidence,” he said. “They will not be scared that if there is evidence that the president has breached his constitutional duty that he should be impeached, but also they will not for political reasons try and impeach him if the evidence is not there.”
De Villiers urged the committee to proceed urgently with finalizing its rules and commencing hearings, in line with deadlines set by the Speaker of the National Assembly.
The DA spokesperson concluded that the party remains committed to ensuring the process adheres to the rule of law, allowing evidence—not political affiliation—to determine the committee’s ultimate findings.
