Cyril Ramaphosa Rejects Calls To Quit Over Farmgate Cash-In-Sofa Scandal

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa rejected calls to quit over the “Farmgate” scandal, saying “I will not resign” in a TV address on Monday as an impeachment committee was set up to reinvestigate allegations that he hid theft of cash stashed in sofas.

Sky News said Ramaphosa, 73, was accused of stashing $4m (£2.93m) in foreign currency in sofas and then covering up its theft, while he denied wrongdoing and said he would legally challenge a parliamentary report which found credible evidence of wrongdoing.

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The BBC reported that Ramaphosa spoke after a Constitutional Court ruling on Friday 8 May 2026 that said the National Assembly acted unlawfully when it voted for December 2022 to dismiss the Section 89 Independent Panel report on the Phala Phala scandal.

MyJoyOnline said the televised address was due to start around 8 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Monday evening, after the court revived impeachment proceedings over the theft of bundles of foreign cash from a sofa on his ranch.

In the same dispute, Ramaphosa acknowledged the thieves stole $580,000 (£472,000) from the sofa on his Phala Phala game farm in 2020, while a former intelligence official said the amount stolen was at least $4 million.

MyJoyOnline said Ramaphosa was set to address South Africans on Monday evening after a court revived impeachment proceedings, and it quoted ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe telling local broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that Ramaphosa was not resigning.

The BBC reported that opposition leader Julius Malema called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to resign after the Constitutional Court ruled parliament violated the constitution as it blocked moves to impeach him for 2022.

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MyJoyOnline said the ANC called a special meeting of its National Executive Committee for Tuesday to discuss what it should do, and it said Ramaphosa’s term ends in 2029.

The BBC said the judgement followed a legal challenge by Malema Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and others, and that it could result in fresh impeachment proceedings.

VOA Afrique said Ramaphosa promised, “We will have no mercy for those who steal money from the poor,” while warning, “We will fix the problem or we will perish,” as he denied dishonest conduct and said the police investigation continues.

Sky News said Ramaphosa challenged any allegations of wrongdoing, adding that “the complaints against me are based on hearsay allegations,” and it described how the impeachment process was overturned on Friday after a campaign by the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party.

The BBC reported that the speaker of South Africa lower house of parliament, Thoko Didiza, said parliament would start the process to set up an impeachment committee to further probe allegations against President Cyril Ramaphosa over the Phalaphala scandal.

MyJoyOnline said an impeachment vote requires a two-thirds majority to pass, and that even though the ANC lost its parliamentary majority in a 2024 election, it still has about 40% of the seats in the National Assembly.

The BBC said a vote of no confidence motion against Ramaphosa requiring a simple majority to pass was also unlikely to succeed because the president would probably be backed by most ANC MPs and coalition partners including the Democratic Alliance.

VOA Afrique said Ramaphosa was re-elected on Monday as president of the ANC after escaping impeachment proceedings tied to a corruption-tainted affair, and it quoted Naledi Pandor praising his closing address at the party’s “national congress.”