By Sfundo Parakozov and Nilutpal Timsina
JOHANNESBURG, May 11 (Reuters) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation on Monday, his office said, after a court revived impeachment proceedings against him over a scandal in which thieves stole bundles of foreign cash from a sofa on his ranch.
The address will start around 2000 local time (1800 GMT), Ramaphosa’s office said in a statement.
The impeachment process could in theory force Ramaphosa from office before his presidential term ends in 2029, though he would probably survive if the matter was put to a vote in parliament, political analysts say.
Separately, Ramaphosa’s party, the African National Congress, called a special meeting of its National Executive Committee for Tuesday to discuss what to do about the scandal, dubbed “Farmgate” by local media.
In 2022, the ANC blocked the impeachment process through a vote in parliament, but the Constitutional Court said on Friday that the vote was invalid and an impeachment committee should be set up to further probe allegations related to the theft.
Ramaphosa, who has been head of state since 2018, has always denied wrongdoing, and said last week that he respected the court’s judgment.
He said the thieves had stolen $580,000 from the sofa on his Phala Phala game farm in 2020, though a former intelligence official said the amount stolen was at least $4 million.
CASH STUFFED IN FURNITURE ON RAMAPHOSA’S RANCH
The theft raised questions about how Ramaphosa could have acquired so much cash, whether he declared it and why he stuffed it into furniture instead of depositing it at a bank.
Ramaphosa, a wealthy businessman before he became president, has said the money was proceeds from the sale of buffaloes. A central bank investigation found he had not contravened exchange control regulations.
Political analysts say there is still a long way to go in the impeachment process.
An impeachment vote requires a two-thirds majority to pass and, even though the ANC lost its parliamentary majority in a 2024 election, it still has about 40% of the seats in the National Assembly.
Former president Jacob Zuma’s political party, uMkhonto weSizwe, wrote to the National Assembly speaker over the weekend asking her to schedule a vote of no-confidence in Ramaphosa.
The speaker has not yet publicly responded.
Analysts say a no-confidence motion, which would require a simple majority to pass, is also unlikely to succeed as Ramaphosa would probably be backed by most ANC lawmakers and key coalition partners such as the Democratic Alliance.
(Additional reporting by Anathi Madubela;Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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