Build One South Africa (BOSA) notes today’s Western Cape High Court ruling granting President Cyril Ramaphosa an urgent interdict that temporarily halts Parliament’s Section 89 impeachment process. While BOSA respects the authority of the courts, today’s ruling is a major setback in the pursuit of holding President Ramaphosa accountable.
Today’s judgment pauses the process, but it does not end it. For South Africans who have waited years for accountability over the Phala Phala scandal, today’s ruling will feel like yet another delay in a political system that too often protects the powerful while citizens are made to wait for justice.
BOSA shares the public’s frustration with accountability being endlessly postponed. South Africans are tired of watching those in positions of power exploit every legal avenue to avoid answering difficult questions.
This is precisely why Parliament must urgently appeal this ruling.
Parliament has a constitutional duty to hold the President to account. That duty cannot be shelved when litigation is initiated. If Parliament allows its constitutional mandate to be suspended without exhausting every legal remedy available, it signals to powerful public office bearers that they can delay accountability indefinitely.
The Constitutional Court has already made it clear that Parliament has a constitutional obligation to carry out the Section 89 process. Parliament must now show the same determination in defending its constitutional authority as it has shown in establishing the impeachment committee.
The greatest threat to South Africa is not political disagreement or contestation. It is the slow erosion of public trust in our democratic institutions. Every delay deepens the perception that there is one system for South Africans and another for those who occupy high office.
BOSA therefore calls on the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, and the Section 89 Committee to immediately obtain legal advice and, if there are reasonable prospects of success, to lodge an urgent appeal against today’s ruling.
Parliament certainly cannot afford to become complicit in allowing constitutional accountability to be buried beneath endless legal processes.
BOSA will continue to stand unapologetically on the side of accountability, constitutional government and every South African who believes that no President is above the law.
Media Enquiries:
Graham Charters – BOSA Communications Director – 072 635 0440