Ramaphosa invokes Pravin Gordhan ‘spy’ case in his Phala Phala fight

Lawyers argue the stay is necessary to uphold the rule of law

- By Setumo Stone

President Cyril Ramaphosa has drawn parallels to the case in which late former public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan was said to have been maligned as “untruthful and a spy” as he fights to stop Parliament from hauling him before a public impeachment inquiry over Phala Phala.

In heads of argument filed in the Western Cape High Court on Friday, Ramaphosa’s legal team argues that the impeachment process should be halted pending the outcome of his review of the independent panel report that found he had a case to answer over the burglary at his Limpopo game farm.

The president wants the court to interdict the National Assembly’s impeachment committee from proceeding until his review is heard from September 2 to 4.

His lawyers say the application is “far more modest” than his opponents suggest.

“The president, in other words, merely asks for a stay of a few months,” they argue.