Staff Reporter

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have taken to the streets of Johannesburg today accusing the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) of deliberately shielding President Cyril Ramaphosa by withholding a crucial judgment on the Phala Phala saga for over a year.

The party marched to the apex court, demanding the immediate release of the ruling on their application, which challenged Parliament’s December 2022 decision to vote against adopting the Section 89 panel report on the Phala Phala farm break-in.

The EFF’s application, which was launched in early 2024, sought to have Parliament’s vote overturned, arguing that the National Assembly’s rejection of the independent panel’s findings was irrational and violated its constitutional duty to hold the executive accountable.

The panel’s 2023 report had found strong evidence of misconduct by President Ramaphosa concerning the theft of foreign currency from his game farm.

EFF National Spokesperson, Sinawo Thambo, delivered an address during the protest, noting that the wait for the judgment had far exceeded the judicial norm of a three-month turnaround.

“It has now been twelve months and two days since the ConCourt received our application,” said Thambo.

“The norms and standards of South Africa dictate that judgments must be released within three months.

“We want to register to them that they are failing in their constitutional duty as the final arbiters of disputes in our society. We want the judgment to be released now,” Thambo asserted.

“It’s either illiteracy, incompetence, or deliberate political intervention that is resulting in Ramaphosa being shielded by the ConCourt, and we want an explanation as to why this judgment has not been released” Thambo added.

The party highlighted that the African National Congress (ANC) had used its parliamentary majority to vote against the Section 89 report in 2022, effectively halting impeachment proceedings against the President, which the EFF is now fighting to revive through the courts.