South Africa’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, handed down a ruling on May 8 calling for steps be taken toward potential impeachment of President Cyril Ramaphosa over an alleged case of corruption which surfaced some four years ago. The announcement promises to throw the country into a prolonged state of political turmoil and could lead even to the early resignation of President Ramaphosa.
The ruling is not against the President himself, but against the decision of the ruling African National Congress to use the majority it held in parliament in 2022 to suppress a review of the allegation by a panel of high court judges which had sought impeachment hearings to determine whether the President violated the law. The new ruling explicitly calls for impeachment hearings to be convened to determine whether the President violated the law and his mandate.
