President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday filed papers in the Constitutional Court requesting that it hear his challenge of the adverse three-member panel report that suggested he may have breached his oath of office and the constitution.
Members of the panel – retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, retired high court judge Thokozile Masipa, and advocate Mahlape Sello – as well as the Speaker of Parliament and Vuyolwethu Zungula are the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth respondents respectively.
Zungula is the president of the African Transformation Movement, the party that brought the matter to Parliament, resulting in the formation of the three-member panel.
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Some opposition parties and other senior members of Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) have been calling for the president’s resignation since the report was released last week on Wednesday.
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However, the Congress of the People and the GOOD party have rejected calls for Ramaphosa to resign.
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In his application to take the adverse report on review, Ramaphosa who denies any wrongdoing applied to the Constitutional Court for the following orders:
- It is declared that, in terms of section 167(4)(e) of the Constitution, only this court may decide this application.
- The applicant is granted leave in terms of section 167(6)(a) of the Constitution to bring this application directly to this court.
- The report of the Independent Panel, dated 30 November 2022, rendered in terms of rule 129G of the Rules of the National Assembly (the Report), and particularly the recommendations in paragraph 264 of the Report, are reviewed, declared unlawful, and set aside.
- It is declared that any steps taken by the National Assembly pursuant to the Report are equally unlawful and invalid.
- The respondents opposing this application, if any, are ordered jointly and severally to pay the applicant’s costs.
- The applicant is afforded alternative relief.
In his application, the President said: “I shall later demonstrate that the panel strayed beyond the four charges. In so far as it did so, it strayed beyond its mandate. It was also unfair to me because it raised matters to which I have never been invited to respond”.
Ramaphosa also requested the court that he be allowed to rely on his accompanying founding affidavit including its annexures and that the court could deal with this matter without oral evidence.
The matter was scheduled for a debate in Parliament on Tuesday, but indications are that the filing of the matter in the Constitutional Court will delay that process.
In the court papers filed by Ramaphosa, he asks the Constitutional Court to decide if the panel, an organ of the National Assembly, failed to fulfill its obligations in terms of section 89 of the Constitution read with the rules of Parliament.
“I also apply for the leave of this court to allow me to bring this matter directly to this court in the interests of justice in terms of section 167(6)(a) of the Constitution and rule 18 of the rules of this court,” said Ramaphosa.
Meanwhile, the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) met in a special session on Monday, (5 December 2022), to deliberate on the panel’s adverse Section 89 parliamentary report.
“The President of the ANC, Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa, attended the special NEC and made remarks after which he was allowed to recuse himself,” said a terse communique released Monday.
“Members of the NEC having received the report of the special NWC held on Sunday, (4 December 2022), engaged extensively, fully, and frankly.”
The ANC said the NEC concluded that “the NEC resolved that the ANC will vote against the adoption of the Report of the Section 89 Panel, given the fact that it is being taken on review”.
FULL COURT PAPERS BELOW:
