President Cyril Ramaphosa has formally objected to Parliament’s Section 89 Impeachment Committee’s recommended choice of evidence leader, escalating tensions over the inquiry into his conduct in the Phala Phala farm scandal.
In a letter sent late Tuesday to committee chairperson Makashule Gana, Ramaphosa raised objections to the appointment of Advocate Thandazani Madonsela, whom the committee’s majority had recommended two weeks earlier by a vote of nine to seven over rival candidate Kate Hofmeyr SC, with eleven members abstaining.
Ramaphosa cited two main grounds for his objection. He noted that he removed Madonsela as his nominee to the Judicial Service Commission following the 2022 interviews for chief justice, raising the possibility that Madonsela could harbor a grievance. He also pointed to Madonsela’s earlier legal work advising the African National Congress on matters connected to the impeachment inquiry, arguing this could give him prior insight that an evidence leader approaching the case afresh would not have. Madonsela previously disclosed that involvement to Parliament following his nomination.
The committee voted 19 to 5 on Wednesday to postpone confirming Madonsela’s appointment and to seek legal review of Ramaphosa’s objections rather than proceed immediately, as had been expected.
The move drew sharp criticism from opposition figures. Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema accused Ramaphosa of trying to select his own adjudicator after the committee had already voted openly on the matter. The Democratic Alliance’s parliamentary leader, George Michalakis, said the concerns around Madonsela’s ANC consultation were worth examining but stopped short of endorsing Ramaphosa’s objection outright.
Gana said the committee would take legal advice before deciding how to respond, adding that the appointment process was now on hold pending that review.
The inquiry stems from allegations that Ramaphosa mishandled the 2020 theft of roughly $580,000 in cash from his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo province. Ramaphosa has separately sought a court interdict to pause the impeachment proceedings while a related legal review is pending.
