Ramaphosa also wants any possible impeachment process to be blocked, saying in his 59-page application that “any steps taken by the National Assembly pursuant to the report are equally unlawful and invalid.”
The inquiry relates to findings that large sums of foreign currency were hidden at Ramaphosa’s private game farm and he failed to report the money missing when it was stolen in 2020.
Ramaphosa has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crimes. The existence of the cash at the Phala Phala game farm and his failure to report the theft to police only surfaced in June in a scandal dubbed “Farmgate” by the media.
Ramaphosa insisted at the weekend that he would not resign after a special panel reported on an alleged coverup of a cash robbery at his farm, but his political future remains uncertain.
Legislators will decide whether he should face a vote on forcing him from office.
To succeed, the vote would have to be approved by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly.
South Africa’s ruling party on Monday warned it would not back any motion at an upcoming parliamentary debate that would lead to a vote for removing President Cyril Ramaphosa, under fire over a burglary scandal.
“Should parliament proceed tomorrow, the ANC will not support that vote,” African National Congress interim secretary-general Paul Mashatile told reporters after day-long talks among party leaders.
Having received firm backing from his allies within the party, Ramaphosa has vowed to fight on, with his spokesman saying the allegations against him would be challenged.
Despite the doubts raised over Ramaphosa’s integrity, he is still seen by investors at home and abroad as cleaner than any of his rivals.
Investors fear uncertainty and that any other president could slow down or reverse economic reforms and increase government spending and take on more debt at levels they deem unsustainable.
“The conundrum for the ANC is that recent polls of its supporters show that President Ramaphosa remains its strongest drawcard for national elections,” JP Morgan analysts said in a note to clients.
South Africa’s main opposition liberal Democratic Alliance (DA) party said it had submitted a motion to dissolve the national assembly and reiterated its call for an early election.
“Parliament’s role is precisely to step up at times such as this… It can only do this by dissolving the National Assembly so that the president can call an early election,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen.
