Opposition parties ask South Africa's top court to revive impeachment hearings for the president

Two South African opposition parties have asked the country’s top court to revive impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa over a scandal where more than half a million dollars in cash was stashed in a couch at his ranch and then stolen

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Two South African opposition parties asked the country's top court Tuesday to revive impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa over a scandal where more than half a million dollars in cash was stashed in a couch at his ranch and then stolen.

The leftist Economic Freedom Fighters and African Transformation Movement want the Constitutional Court to overrule a vote by Parliament in late 2022 that saved Ramaphosa from impeachment hearings.

Ramaphosa's African National Congress party used its parliamentary majority to stop an impeachment vote by lawmakers. But the opposition parties say Parliament did not fulfill its constitutional duty to hold the president to account after a preliminary investigation found some evidence of misconduct by Ramaphosa and recommended a full probe.

The opposition parties want a full parliamentary investigation.

Ramaphosa was cleared of wrongdoing by financial authorities, by a public watchdog and by police after a two-year criminal investigation.

The case threatened Ramaphosa's leadership after it was revealed in June 2022 that around $580,000 in U.S. banknotes was stolen from a couch at his game farm. The theft happened in early 2020 but came to light two years later.

Ramaphosa was accused of money laundering and breaching foreign currency laws, and of covering up the theft. He said the money came from the legitimate sale of animals at his ranch but has not explained why it was hidden in a couch.

The opposition parties pushed that question again at Tuesday's court hearing.

“There needs to be an explanation,” said Anton Katz, a lawyer for the ATM party.

Ramaphosa's long-ruling ANC lost its parliamentary majority in May's election. Any revival of impeachment hearings could be risky for the leader of Africa's most advanced economy, who was reelected for a second term in June with the help of coalition partners. However, the EFF and ATM are small parties and would ultimately need support from others who joined the ANC-led coalition government to impeach Ramaphosa, which is seen as unlikely.

The Constitutional Court typically takes weeks and sometimes months to deliver a ruling.

___

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa