President Cyril Ramaphosa has reportedly forced the ANC into a dramatic climbdown, ordering the party to withdraw from the Phala Phala court case and leaving National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza isolated in the legal showdown.
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According to the Sunday Times, Ramaphosa personally instructed the ANC to abandon its intervention in his review application challenging the Section 89 Independent Panel Report into the Phala Phala scandal.
Ramaphosa angered
Multiple senior ANC insiders said the president was angered after learning the party had filed an urgent application to intervene in his bid to interdict Parliament’s impeachment committee, rather than seeking to participate in the broader review proceedings.
His intervention followed an explosive national working committee (NWC) meeting this week, in which some of his closest allies openly questioned whether the ANC should continue to defend him.
Sources said Ramaphosa was briefed by secretary‑general Fikile Mbalula after the NWC resolved to intervene. Instead of welcoming the move, Ramaphosa ordered the application withdrawn immediately.
“The president felt the ANC had approached the matter incorrectly,” one senior insider said. “He believed the party should have applied to participate in the review proceedings during the window period, where it could have assisted the court on broader constitutional questions. Once that opportunity passed, he felt the ANC had missed its chance.”
‘Not procedural’
Another source added: “He was not pleased at all. He believes the ANC bears responsibility for the circumstances that led to this litigation because of the decisions it previously took in Parliament.”
The withdrawal strips the governing party of any formal role in defending Parliament’s impeachment process.
ANC insiders confirmed the move was not procedural but a direct presidential order. “The president made it clear: the ANC cannot oppose his legal bid,” one source said, describing the decision as a test of loyalty.
Didiza
Didiza has already decided not to oppose Ramaphosa’s review, a stance that has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties.
On Friday, Didiza criticised misinformation about her handling of the impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa, maintaining that she complied with all constitutional court directives.
This comes after the EFF formally submitted a motion of no confidence in Didiza on Friday, 26 June 2026, calling for the matter to be prioritised in parliament’s agenda.
The red berets are angry that Didiza refused to oppose the president’s bid to interdict the impeachment committee.
Didiza hit back
However, Didiza said she carried out her duties, including swiftly tabling the Section 89 Independent Panel Report and setting up a multiparty committee.
Didiza said while she’s not opposing Ramaphosa’s bid, she is making Parliament’s case clear to the Western Cape High Court, where the president filed his application.
While Didiza has decided not to oppose Ramaphosa’s application, in contrast, impeachment committee chair Makashule Gana has filed an opposing affidavit, ensuring the case will still be contested.
“Parliament cannot abdicate its responsibility. This matter must be ventilated fully,” Gana said.
ANC divisions
The ANC’s retreat has exposed divisions within the party. Some members argued the withdrawal undermines Parliament’s independence, while others insisted it was necessary to protect Ramaphosa and the GNU.
“This is about shielding the president, not about principle,” one senior MP told the .
Opposition parties seized on the climbdown as evidence of Ramaphosa tightening his grip on the ANC. The ATM said the withdrawal proved the president was “running scared,” while the DA accused the ANC of “sacrificing accountability for political convenience.”
Ramaphosa allies
Ramaphosa’s allies defended the move as pragmatic.
“Our loyalty is to the public and to the voters. This historic course of building a government that can get South Africa working requires unity, not division,” an ANC spokesperson said.
The Citizen has reached out to Ramaphosa’s spokesperson for comment.
Legal showdown
Ramaphosa is seeking to overturn the findings of the Section 89 panel, chaired by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo.
The panel previously concluded that Ramaphosa had questions to answer regarding the theft of approximately $580 000 (about R9.6 million) from his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in February 2020.
ConCourt ruling
The Western Cape High Court has scheduled the review application to be heard between 2 and 4 September, with opposing parties required to file notices of motion by 7 July.
The legal developments follow a Constitutional Court (ConCourt) ruling in May, which found that parliament had acted unlawfully by blocking impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa in December 2022.
As a result, the National Assembly was compelled to establish a formal impeachment committee to investigate the allegations further.
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