Ramaphosa Refuses To Resign Amid Impeachment Proceeding In South Africa

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has ruled out resigning from office despite fresh impeachment proceedings linked to allegations surrounding stolen cash discovered at his private game ranch.

In a televised national address on Monday, Ramaphosa said he would challenge a parliamentary report that found evidence suggesting possible misconduct in his handling of the incident.

“I therefore respectfully want to make it clear that I will not resign,” he stated.

His comments followed an announcement by the South African Parliament that it would establish an impeachment committee in line with a ruling by the country’s Constitutional Court.

The court had ruled that Parliament acted unconstitutionally in 2022 when lawmakers voted against proceeding with impeachment investigations related to the scandal.

The controversy centres on allegations that more than half a million dollars in cash stolen from Ramaphosa’s game farm had been hidden inside furniture at the property. Critics accused the president of failing to properly report the theft and attempting to keep investigations into the matter private.

An earlier independent report had found possible evidence of wrongdoing, but Parliament at the time voted to block impeachment proceedings while Ramaphosa’s party, the African National Congress, still held a parliamentary majority.

The Constitutional Court later ruled that the report should have been referred to an impeachment committee for further investigation.

Under South Africa’s constitution, removing a president through impeachment would require the support of at least two-thirds of lawmakers in the 400-member Parliament.

The newly formed multi-party committee is expected to investigate the allegations further before any possible impeachment vote can take place. No timeline has yet been announced for the process.