• South Africa's Constitutional Court ruled to revive impeachment proceedings against President Ramaphosa.
• The court found the parliament's prior decision to block proceedings unconstitutional.
• President Ramaphosa is accused of concealing a theft of foreign currency from his farmhouse.
• The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) initiated the legal challenge against the impeachment blockade.
• The ruling puts pressure on Ramaphosa as elections approach, with his party having lost its majority.

South Africa's Constitutional Court has ruled to revive impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa, stating that parliament violated the constitution by blocking the inquiry in 2022. This decision follows the “Farmgate” scandal, where allegations arose regarding the concealment of a theft involving significant amounts of cash from Ramaphosa’s property, according to Reuters, BBC, and Africa News.

The judicial ruling highlighted that a parliamentary vote taken on December 13, 2022, effectively quashing impeachment proceedings, was “inconsistent with the Constitution,” invalidating that decision. Chief Justice Mandisa Maya stated that the report from an independent inquiry panel, which suggested Ramaphosa may have committed misconduct, must be referred to an impeachment committee, as reported by Africa News and Al Jazeera.

The scandal first came to light in June 2022, when allegations surfaced that Ramaphosa had concealed a robbery where over $500,000 in cash was stolen from his property. The opposition parties behind this recent legal challenge, notably the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), are pushing for accountability and have called for Ramaphosa to resign, according to Reuters and BBC.

As the impeachment committee prepares to review the evidence, there remains uncertainty regarding the outcome, especially since Ramaphosa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) lost its majority in the latest elections. Despite this, the ANC still retains enough seats to potentially block a successful impeachment bid, stating that they respect the judgement and asserting that "no person is above the law," as noted by Africa News and Al Jazeera.