South Africa‘s parliament has voted against impeaching President Cyril Ramaphosa over a report that says he kept undeclared foreign currency on his farm in 2020. Lawmakers on Tuesday voted 214 to 148 against the move to impeach Ramaphosa. The ruling African National Congress (ANC), which has a majority in parliament, largely sided with Ramaphosa, preventing the motion from receiving the two-thirds vote needed to proceed with impeachment.
However, four ANC members of parliament showed their disapproval of Ramaphosa by voting for impeachment, and several others did not turn up for the vote. The decisive vote came after an incriminating parliamentary report alleged that Ramaphosa illegally hid at least $580,000 in cash in a sofa at his Phala Phala game ranch. He said he did not report the theft of the money to the police to avoid questions about how he got hold of the foreign currency and why he did not report it to the authorities.
The report prompted Ramaphosa’s detractors – opposition parties and even rivals within his ANC party – to call for him to step down. The parliamentary vote will come in a week when Ramaphosa will also be fighting for his political life as he seeks re-election as ANC leader at its national conference starting in Johannesburg on Friday. The conference will also elect members of the party’s National Executive Committee, which is the highest decision-making body of the party. Ramaphosa must be re-elected as ANC leader in order to stand for re-election to a second term as South African president in 2024.