South Africa’s (SA) Parliament’s Impeachment Committee says it will obtain legal advice on whether or not President Cyril Ramaphosa should appear in person and what consequence there could be if he opts not to appear.
The committee met to decide on an evidence leader but Members of Parliament (MPs) decided the pool of available Senior Counsels is not big enough.
The committee was established following a ruling of the Constitutional Court in May directing that it should investigate whether Ramaphosa should be removed from office relating to the Phala Phala theft.
During discussions about the committee’s terms of reference, some MPs insisted that it would be futile if Ramaphosa did not appear in person.
“It’s for legal to assist us in so far as the appearance of the president or if the president decides not to testify, what are the options available to the committee,” says Committee Chairperson Makashule Gana.
The committee is also considering the possibility of having the authors of the Section 89 Independent Panel Report appear before them.
The three-member panel was chaired by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, together with retired Judge Thokozile Masipa and Senior Counsel Mahlape Sello.
“Together with legal, we will write to authors of the report, to ask them about their availability, to present their report to the committee.”
–SABC–
