President Cyril Ramaphosa has lodged a formal application in the Western Cape High Court to review and set aside the Phala Phala Independent Panel report.

The report found that there was prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have violated the Constitution and exposed himself to a conflict of interest between his official duties and private business.

The application was filed on Tuesday and specifically challenges the panel’s recommendation contained in paragraph 264 of the report.

An independent panel concluded in 2022 that the information before it suggested Ramaphosa may have committed a serious constitutional violation linked to the Phala Phala farm matter.

However, in his court papers, Ramaphosa argues that the panel misunderstood its mandate in at least four respects and misconstrued the nature of the inquiry it was meant to conduct.

“I submit that the panel misconceived its mandate, misjudged the information placed before it and misinterpreted the four charges against me.” Ramaphosa concluded in the application.

The President further argued that the panel relied on hearsay evidence and reached conclusions without properly applying the law.

Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court of South Africa ruled that the National Assembly acted unlawfully when it voted against adopting the panel’s report, which now forms the basis of impeachment proceedings against the President.

Parliament has already announced the 31 members who will serve on the impeachment committee set up to determine Ramaphosa’s future. The ANC will have nine members on the multi-party committee, including Doris Mpapane, Cameron Dugmore and Faith Muthambi.

The Democratic Alliance has appointed five members, among them chief whip Glynnis Breytenbach. The committee also includes Julius Malema of the EFF and John Hlophe, parliamentary leader of the MK Party.

READ MORE: Concourt orders Parliament to revisit Ramaphosa impeachment process over phala-phala