Across two days in late May, South African talk radio converged on a single legal turn in the Phala Phala saga: President Cyril Ramaphosa's formal application to the Western Cape High Court to review and set aside the Section 89 independent panel report led by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo. Cape Talk, 702 and Power FM all led bulletins with the filing, framing it as Ramaphosa reviving the legal challenge he first launched — and then abandoned — in 2022, after the Constitutional Court ruled this month that Parliament had acted irrationally when it voted down the panel's findings.
Presenters foregrounded Ramaphosa's own language: it would be a 'travesty', he argued, for Parliament to continue with an impeachment inquiry while the report underpinning it was being challenged in court. Stations also captured the first pushback — from the African Transformation Movement, which accused the President of 'Stalingrad' delay tactics — and the procedural reality that Parliament's 31-member impeachment committee was already being assembled. The coverage left open whether Ramaphosa would in fact seek an interim interdict, and how quickly the High Court would move.
South African talk radio treated Ramaphosa's 26 May filing as the moment the Phala Phala matter shifted decisively back into the courts. Cape Talk's afternoon bulletins led with the news that the President had 'officially filed papers in the Western Cape High Court to have the Section 89 panel's Phala Phala report set aside', framing it as the follow-through on an intention he had signalled earlier in the month.1 702 ran near-identical top-of-hour copy, emphasising that the panel under former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo had found 'prima facie evidence that Ramaphosa may have acted unlawfully' after the theft of dollars from the farm.2 Power FM positioned the story as its lead, noting the court papers sought 'a judicial review of the panel's findings' into the 2020 burglary at the Limpopo property.3
Stations were quick to place the filing inside a longer arc. 702 reminded listeners that Ramaphosa's move 'followed the Constitutional Court's ruling that Parliament acted unconstitutionally when it voted against the report's recommendations', and that he had withdrawn an earlier challenge in 2022 once the ANC's majority had rendered it moot.4 Cape Talk's Lindsay Dentlinger reported that the President had 'picked up his legal challenge he first initiated in 2022', contending that the Ngcobo panel 'failed to conduct a rational inquiry and subsequently a rational conclusion'.5
The 'travesty' line became the central soundbite. Cape Talk's Wesley Peterson opened a 1pm bulletin with it almost verbatim: Ramaphosa 'says it would be a travesty if Parliament were to continue with an impeachment inquiry while he challenges a Phala Phala report on which it's based', and would 'be compelled to seek an interdict' if the National Assembly pressed on.6 702 carried the same framing into its evening wrap, noting the affidavit's claim that the panel 'failed to consider the legality of the information put before it' and had not tested whether the material was admissible.7
There was, however, an early ambiguity stations had to navigate: whether Ramaphosa was actually interdicting Parliament now, or only threatening to. Power FM's bulletins were explicit that 'Ramaphosa is not seeking an interim interdict to halt the parliamentary impeachment process while the review application is being considered'.8 Cape Talk and 702, by contrast, foregrounded the conditional threat — that an interdict would follow if Parliament refused to pause.9 The distinction mattered because, as 702 noted, Parliament had 'received the 31 names of all representatives from 16 political parties' for the impeachment committee the day before the filing.10
The substance of Ramaphosa's affidavit got airtime too. 702's Babalo Ndenze reported the President's argument that the panel 'relied on unlawfully obtained information' and 'did not determine whether it could be considered evidence to prove impeachment charges against him', and that Ramaphosa had denied in the same affidavit doing paid work outside the executive.11 Cape Talk added that the underlying report had been triggered by former spy boss Arthur Fraser, who 'blew the lid on the case' two years after the theft of US dollars from the Limpopo farm.12
Opposition reaction surfaced on 27 May, principally from the African Transformation Movement. 702 reported that the ATM accused Ramaphosa of 'using Stalingrad's tactics to stall an impeachment hearing against him' and wanted the Western Cape High Court to hear the matter in early August.13 Power FM carried the ATM's parallel argument that the Section 89 inquiry 'should continue despite the pending legal' challenge, framing the President's application as 'an attempt to delay what it describes as a fair and constitutional impeachment process'.14
Power FM also gave space to the institutional response from Parliament. In an earlier segment, National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza was quoted defending the Speaker's compliance with the Constitutional Court judgment, signalling that Parliament intended to press ahead with establishing the impeachment committee regardless of Ramaphosa's legal manoeuvres.15 Cape Talk closed the news cycle by noting that political parties had been given until end-of-day to submit proposals on how the impeachment committee should operate — a procedural deadline running in parallel to the court bid.16
What stations left unresolved is the timing collision. Ramaphosa wants the High Court to hear the review; the ATM wants it heard fast; Parliament's committee is already being constituted. If the National Assembly does not pause voluntarily, the next inflection point — flagged repeatedly across all three stations — is whether the President actually files for the interim interdict he has so far only threatened.
- 702
- Cape Talk
- Power FM
Citations
- 1.
“Thanks, Mandy. Good afternoon. I'm Zingis Acherra. President Sir Ramaphosa has officially filed papers in the Western Cape High Court to have the Section 89 panel's Palapala report set aside. Ramaposa made the move today after making his intentions clear that he would challenge the report of the panel that was led by former Chief Justice Sandilene Nubo. The Pretoria High Court has raised concerns over arguments brought forward by suspended police sergeant finding Gorsi's legal team during his bail appeal. go see what”
- 2.
“Good afternoon. I'm Zingesachirwa. President Ramaposa has officially filed papers in the Western Cape High Court to have the Section 89 panel's Palapala report set aside. Ramaposa made the move today after making his intentions clear that he would challenge the report of the panel that was led by former Chief Justice, Sandhila Nouveau. The report had found there was prima facie evidence that Ramaposa may have acted unlawfully following the theft of dollars from his palapala farm. Babbalondense reports. President Rama posse's decision”
- 3.
“Thank you, Mr. Kay, the top stories at this hour. President Cyril Ramaphosa has formally approached the Western Cape High Court to challenge the Section 89 Independent Panel Report into the Palapal matter. Court papers filed by the President, seek a judicial review of the panel's findings, which concluded that there may be a case for him to answer regarding the 2020 burglary at his Palapala Farm in Limpopo. In other news, the ANC Secretary-General, Figuilla, Jambalula says the organisation once all pre-”
- 4.
“the High Court to review the Section 89 panel report followed the Constitutional Court's ruling that Parliament acted unconstitutionally when it voted against the report's recommendations. The panel in 2022 recommended that the National Assembly must set up an impeachment inquiry to probe its findings further, but the ANC used its majority to thwart the report. Ramaphosa at the time also withdrew his initial legal challenge of the panel report because it became moot following the National Assembly vote. The Western Cape High”
- 5.
“while his review is pending. Lindsay Dentlinger reports. President Saul Ramaposa has picked up his legal challenge he first initiated in 2022 by launching her case in the High Court to have the Section 89 panel report declared unlawful and set aside. He contends the panel led by former constitutional court justice, Sandilet Gobol, failed to conduct a rational inquiry and subsequently a rational conclusion. Ramaphosa alleges the panel relied on unlawfully obtained information and did not determine where...”
- 6.
“crime syndicate operates. Good afternoon. I'm Wesley Peterson. President Cyril Ramaphosa says it would be a travesty if Parliament were to continue with an impeachment inquiry while he challenges a Palapala-Pala report on which it's based. In a review application filed in the Western Cape High Court today, Ramaposa says if the National Assembly proceeds, he'll be compelled to seek an interdict. Earlier this month.”
- 7.
“Ramaphosa says the panel appointed by parliament failed to consider the legality of the information put before it in investigating the four charges against him. He says the panel headed by former Chief Justice, Sandilegnobo, also did not determine whether this information could be deemed admissible evidence and whether it could be used to determine his possible impeachment. Ramaphosa has further questioned the charges the panel investigated, saying it failed to decide whether if proven, these could be considered impeachable offenses and whether some of the”
- 8.
“President Seral Ramaposa has formally approached the Western Cape High Court to challenge the Section 89 Independent Panel Report into the Palapala matter. Court papers filed by the President, CK. Judicial Review of the panel's findings, which concluded that they may be a case for him to answer regarding the 2020 burglary at his Palapala Farm in Limpopo. However, Ramaposa is not seeking an interim interdict to halt the parliamentary impeachment process while the review application is being considered. This means a...”
- 9.
“on which the inquiry will be based. In a review application filed in the Western Cape High Court earlier today, Ramaphosa says if the National Assembly does not intend to proceed with the Section 189 inquiry, he will be compelled to seek an intellect to stop the proceedings. Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court found Parliament had behaved irrationally in 2022 when it dismissed the report that Ramaphosa now seeks to be set aside. Lindsay Dentslinger reports.”
- 10.
“will be compelled to seek an interdict to stop proceedings. Earlier this month, the Constitutional Court found Parliament had behaved irrationally in 2022 when it dismissed the report that Ramaphosa now seeks to be set aside. Lindsay Dentlinger reports. President Sorrel Ramaphosa's legal challenge comes a day after Parliament announced it had received the 31 names of all representatives from 16 political parties that are due to conduct the impeachment inquiry. But in his affidavit filed with the court today, Ramaphosa says the panel,”
- 11.
“declared unlawful and set aside. He contends the panel led by former constitutional court justice, Sande Lecobo, failed to conduct a rational inquiry and subsequently a rational conclusion. Ramaphosa alleges the panel relied on unlawfully obtained information and did not determine whether it could be considered evidence to prove impeachment charges against him. In responding to the charges probed by the panel in his affidavit to the court, Ramaphosa has denied that he does paid work outside of the executive.”
- 12.
“who compiled an impeachment report into matters related to his Parapara farm was flawed. He has also called into question the Section 89 panel report's findings in a judicial review application filed yesterday in the Western K-Pai court. The report compiled in 2022 considered four charges against Ramaphosa related to the theft of U.S. dollars from the Limpopo farm after former spy boss Arthur Fraser blew the lid on the case, which had happened two years earlier.”
- 13.
“Sir Ramaphosa of using Stalingrad's tactics to stall an impeachment hearing against him. It wants the Western Cape High Court to hear an application brought by Ramaposa against Parliament's Palapala report in early August. Ramaposa is threatening to interdict Parliament's impeachment proceedings if it continues while the judicial review is underway. But in a lawyer's letter to the president, the ATM says Ramaposa is trying to delay being subjected to a fair and constitutional process. Lindsay Dentlinger has more.”
- 14.
“89 independent panel report into the Palapala matter. Through its legal team, the ATM argues that Ramaphosa's application is an attempt to delay what it describes as a fair and constitutional impeachment process. The precedent this week approached the Western Cape High Court seeking to review and set aside the panel report while also warning Parliament against continuing with impeachment proceedings during the court challenge. However, the ATM says the Section 89 inquiry should continue despite the pending legal.”
- 15.
“Palafam scandal and determined whether Ramaphosa should face formal impeachment proceedings. In line with the constitutional provisions, Ramaphosa has explored legal avenues to challenge the independent panel report commissioned by Parliament back in 2022, which recommended the possible establishment of a Section 89 inquiry. National Assembly Speaker Tokodidiza made these remarks. You know very well that the speaker, after the judgment, was delivered, has actually complied with that judge and I don't think therefore they”
- 16.
“High Court, Ramaphosa argues it would be a travesty if Parliament were to continue with the process while the legal matter is pending. He wants the court to review a report that suggests he may have violated the law in relation to the theft of $580,000 US dollars in cash from his pal-pala game farm in Lampopo in 2020. Lindsay Dentlinger reports. Political parties have until the end of today to submit proposals to a rule subcommittee on how they think an impeachment committee should operate.”