South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, has secured a temporary legal reprieve in the long-running scandal over hundreds of thousands of dollars allegedly hidden in a sofa at his luxury farm.
The Western Cape High Court on Friday, July 24, 2026, ordered a halt to parliamentary impeachment proceedings against the President pending the determination of his legal challenge to a report that raised questions about his conduct.
Ramaphosa had approached the court seeking to stop the parliamentary impeachment committee from continuing its work until his review of a November 2022 report is decided.
The report had concluded that the President “may have committed” serious violations and misconduct in connection with the scandal.
Delivering his ruling, Judge Andre le Grange ordered that the respondents must not proceed with a public impeachment hearing while Ramaphosa’s court challenge is pending.
“Pending the determination by this court of the applicant’s review… respondents are interdicted from proceeding with a public impeachment hearing,” the Judge announced.
Ramaphosa has consistently denied wrongdoing and has ruled out resigning over the matter, which came to light after the alleged theft of foreign currency from his Phala Phala farm in 2020.
The President is accused of failing to properly report the theft of $580,000 to the police and tax authorities.
The money was allegedly stolen during a break-in at his luxury farmhouse in the northern Limpopo province.
Ramaphosa, however, has maintained that he reported the incident to the police and that the money was obtained from the sale of 20 buffaloes.
The complaint against the President was filed by a former intelligence chief and one-time ally of former South African President, Jacob Zuma.
The complainant had alleged that Ramaphosa concealed a robbery involving $4 million from the police and tax authorities.
Following Friday’s court decision and criticism from opposition parties accusing him of evading accountability, Ramaphosa reaffirmed his commitment to the country’s judicial and accountability processes.
“The President will continue to cooperate with and abide by processes of accountability,” a statement issued on his behalf said.
He also “reaffirms his respect of judicial independence and separation of powers enshrined in our Constitution.”
If the impeachment proceedings eventually go ahead, it would be the first time a sitting South African president faces such a process.
The court is expected to hear Ramaphosa’s challenge to the 2022 independent panel report in September.
The report had found that he may have a case to answer over the scandal.
The report was initially rejected by the National Assembly, where Ramaphosa’s ruling African National Congress held a majority, effectively preventing impeachment proceedings from beginning at the time.
Although the public prosecutor dropped the charges in 2024, South Africa’s Constitutional Court overturned the parliamentary vote in May 2026.
That decision paved the way for the creation of the parliamentary impeachment committee, whose proceedings have now been temporarily suspended by the Western Cape High Court.
