JOHANNESBURG – A legal opinion by the law firm of ANC veteran Mathews Phosa advised President Cyril Ramaphosa to avoid premature combat with the courts and Parliament over the ongoing scandal involving the theft of dollars from his Phala Phala game farm.
According to sources, an advisor of Ramaphosa's obtained a copy of the legal opinion ahead of a family meeting on Monday, where the President addressed the nation and stated he would not resign over the scandal. Sources indicate that the content of Ramaphosa's address mirrored the legal opinion.
The legal opinion, compiled by Phosa Loots Attorneys and dated May 10, presented various strategic legal and political options for the President following the Constitutional Court ruling that directed Parliament to proceed with an impeachment process based on the Section 89 independent panel report from November 2022.
While some legal experts have advised Ramaphosa to interdict the impeachment process from Parliament, Phosa’s law firm suggested a different approach. “In our respectful view, the president’s most prudent strategy at present would be the following: to participate fully within the constitutional process; to avoid premature constitutional confrontation with the judiciary or Parliament; and to reserve rights in relation to future procedural unfairness or irrationality.”
Ramaphosa was further advised to prepare comprehensively for impeachment committee proceedings, maintain a measured public posture, and manage the matter strategically at parliamentary, legal, and public levels.
Phosa’s legal opinion emphasized that the Constitutional Court ruling does not remove the president from office, make any final factual findings against him, determine criminal liability, or require Parliament to ultimately remove him from office. The firm insists that the ruling is primarily about Parliament's processes and how they conducted their business regarding the panel report, not about Ramaphosa's personal guilt.
The legal opinion stated that the judgment concerns "the constitutional architecture of parliamentary accountability mechanisms rather than the substantive guilt or innocence of the president."
Ramaphosa's televised address closely mirrored arguments contained in the Phosa memorandum, framing the judgment as procedural rather than a finding of guilt. Both documents stressed constitutional restraint and cautioned against direct attacks on the judiciary or Parliament.
The memo appears to foreshadow Ramaphosa’s decision to seek a court review of the independent panel report, arguing that resignation would be premature because “no final factual findings have been made”.
The ANC NEC meeting and the national officials’ meeting were also presented with legal options given to Ramaphosa by his counsel, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, SC, which aligned with Phosa's advice.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula stated that the Constitutional Court did not order an impeachment trial for the president, find him guilty of anything, direct that he be removed from office, or endorse the findings of the Section 89 Independent Panel. Mbalula emphasized that the judgment concerned the procedural conduct of the National Assembly and was not a finding on the merits of the matter.
