The EFF and African Transformation Movement (ATM) have approached the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal a Western Cape High Court ruling on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s bid to halt the work of the Impeachment Committee.
In a statement on Tuesday, the EFF noted that it has approached the court on an urgent basis, noting that the High Court’s judgement was “fundamentally flawed and ought to be overturned”.
The High Court ruled in the President’s favour last Friday, stopping Parliament’s Impeachment Committee, pending a review of the independent panel report on the Phala Phala matter.
READ MORE: Court halts impeachment committee pending Phala Phala review – Smile 90.4FM
The EFF said the court interfered with Parliament’s constitutional functions.
“Every day that this interdict remains in place prevents Parliament from exercising its constitutional responsibility to investigate whether the President has committed serious violations of the Constitution or the law, serious misconduct, or is unable to perform the functions of office as contemplated in Section 89… The judiciary cannot undermine Parliament’s constitutional role by halting an inquiry before it has reached any conclusion,” read the EFF’s statement.
The EFF believe that the President is trying to stop Parliament from holding him accountable.
“The EFF further maintains that Ramaphosa cannot use the courts to suspend a constitutional accountability mechanism directed at investigating his own conduct. Allowing the subject of an impeachment inquiry to stop that inquiry through litigation weakens Parliament’s oversight powers and creates a dangerous precedent where those entrusted with public power can avoid accountability by delaying constitutional processes.”
EFF Statement on the Direct Appeal against the Western Cape High Court Judgment Interdicting the Work of the Impeachment Committee
—The EFF maintains that the majority judgment of the Western Cape High Court is fundamentally flawed and ought to be overturned. The High Court… pic.twitter.com/FxOXaYr8s4
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) July 28, 2026
The ATM said this ruling is especially concerning as it creates “an unsustainable precedent and judicial uncertainty”.
“It directly affects the implementation of an order previously issued by the Constitutional Court, which referred the Independent Panel report to the Parliament’s Impeachment Committee,” read the ATM’s statement on Friday, 24 July.
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A split judgment has created constitutional confusion over the implementation of a Constitutional Court order.
The ATM will not sit back while accountability is placed on judicial pause. Our attorneys have been briefed to approach the Constitutional Court… pic.twitter.com/Vq2pOOb4qV
— African Transformation Movement (@ATMovement_SA) July 24, 2026
