JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's highest court has set aside a vote by lawmakers to reject a report that found credible evidence of wrongdoing by President Cyril Ramaphosa related to a long-running cash scandal. The court verdict Friday could pave the way for impeachment proceedings against him.
Ramaphosa had survived a motion to face impeachment proceedings in 2022, when lawmakers from his African National Congress party voted to reject a scathing report that recommended a full investigation into why he had $580,000 in cash stashed in a couch, which he reported missing in a theft at his Phala Phala game farm.
The Constitutional Court ruling means the report must now be referred to an impeachment committee for a full investigation, which may decide to vote on impeaching Ramaphosa.
“In the event that the panel (of inquiry) concludes that sufficient evidence exists, the matter must be referred to the impeachment committee,” Chief Justice Mandisa Maya said.
Julius Malema, the leader of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), has called for Ramaphosa to immediately resign and for impeachment proceedings against him to begin.
His party was one of the opposition parties that took the matter to court, accusing ANC lawmakers of using their parliamentary majority to shield Ramaphosa from accountability.
“Ramaphosa is going to jail. With the amount of shenanigans and evidence that will come out of that impeachment process, there is no way that Ramaphosa is not going to jail,” Malema told a crowd of supporters after the ruling was delivered.
Ramaphosa has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the cash was proceeds from the sale of buffalos at his farm.
He said he had reported the theft to the head of his security, but a parliamentary inquiry that probed the incident rejected his version and recommended a full investigation by an impeachment committee.
The long-running scandal has been a political problem for Ramaphosa, with opposition parties calling for his resignation.
He survived the motion while his party still had a parliamentary majority, which it lost in the 2024 elections for the first time since it came to power in 1994. He is currently serving his last term as president.
He has also been accused of tax evasion, money laundering and breaching currency laws, with questions about why money for a legitimate business would be hidden in a couch.
Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said Friday that the president had been consistent in providing his full assistance to the various inquiries into this matter, and would continue to do so.
“President Ramaphosa maintains that no person is above the law and that any allegations should be subjected to due process without fear, favour or prejudice,” Magwenya said.
Two previous probes by the reserve bank and a public watchdog cleared Ramaphosa of wrongdoing.
A supporter of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) carries a placard outside the Constitutional Court, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
A supporter of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) carries a placard outside the Constitutional Court, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Friday, May 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
Republicans have opened up an advantage in a national redistricting battle among states after a pair of court rulings that weakened federal Voting Rights Act protections for minorities and invalidated a key Democratic redistricting effort.
A recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Black-majority congressional district in Louisiana has provided grounds for Republicans in several Southern states to try to eliminate House districts with large minority populations that had been protected under the Voting Rights Act.
Meanwhile, a Virginia Supreme Court ruling invalidated a voter-approved congressional map that Democrats had been counting on to deliver as many as four additional U.S. House seats. The court said Democratic lawmakers had violated the state constitution when placing the proposal on the ballot.
Legislative voting districts typically are redrawn based on census data after the start of each decade. But an unusual spate of mid-decade redistricting broke out after President Donald Trump urged Texas Republicans last year to reshape U.S. House districts to give the party an edge in the midterm elections. Democrats in California countered with their own political gerrymandering. More states followed.
So far, Republicans believe they could win up to 14 additional seats from new districts in Texas, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee. Democrats, meanwhile, think they could gain up to six seats from new districts in California and Utah. But those tallies presume past voting patterns hold in November. Historically, the president's party tends to lose seats in the midterms.
Democrats need to gain just a few seats in November to wrest control of the House from Republicans, which would give them greater power to oppose Trump.
Lawmakers in several states are considering plans for new U.S. House maps.
Current map: two Democrats, four Republicans
New map: Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has postponed the May 16 congressional primary to allow lawmakers to revise U.S. House districts in response to an April 29 Supreme Court ruling striking down a majority Black congressional district.
Challenges: Several lawsuits have been filed in federal and state court asserting that Landry lacked authority to suspend the primary elections.
Current map: two Democrats, five Republicans
New map: Republican state officials hope to revert to a U.S. House map passed in 2023 — but not previously used — that could help Republicans win an additional seat.
Challenges: The current map was imposed under a court order and is supposed to be used until after the 2030 census. State officials have asked federal courts to set aside that order in light of its ruling in the Louisiana redistricting case.
Current map: one Democrat, six Republicans
New map: Republican state House members have proposed a new U.S. House map that could give the GOP a better chance at winning an additional seat.
Challenges: State lawmakers are to wrap up their regular work May 14. The House voted to allow redistricting to be considered after then, but the extension also would need a two-thirds vote from the Senate.
New U.S. House districts are in place in eight states. Six took up redistricting voluntarily, one was required to by its state constitution and another did so under court order.
Current map: 13 Democrats, 25 Republicans
New map: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a revised House map into law last August that could help Republicans win five additional seats.
Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in December cleared the way for the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It has since overturned a lower-court ruling that blocked the new map because it was “racially gerrymandered.”
Current map: 43 Democrats, nine Republicans
New map: Voters in November approved revised House districts drawn by the Democratic-led Legislature that could help Democrats win five additional seats.
Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in February allowed the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It denied an appeal from Republicans and the Department of Justice, which claimed the districts impermissibly favor Hispanic voters.
Current map: two Democrats, six Republicans
New map: Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a revised House map into law last September that could help Republicans win an additional seat.
Challenges: A Cole County judge ruled the new map is in effect as election officials work to determine whether a referendum petition seeking a statewide vote complies with constitutional criteria and contains enough valid petition signatures. The Missouri Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit claiming mid-decade redistricting is illegal. It’s scheduled to hear arguments in May on claims the new districts violate compactness requirements and should be placed on hold pending the potential referendum.
Current map: four Democrats, 10 Republicans
New map: The Republican-led General Assembly gave final approval in October to revised districts that could help Republicans win an additional seat.
Challenges: A federal court panel in November denied a request to block the revised districts from being used in the midterm elections.
Current map: five Democrats, 10 Republicans
New map: A bipartisan panel composed primarily of Republicans voted in October to approve revised House districts that improve Republicans’ chances of winning two additional seats.
Challenges: None. The state constitution required new districts before the 2026 election, because Republicans had approved the prior map without sufficient Democratic support after the last census.
Current map: no Democrats, four Republicans
New map: A judge in November imposed revised House districts that could help Democrats win a seat. The court ruled that lawmakers had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters when adopting the prior map.
Challenges: A federal court panel and the state Supreme Court, in February, each rejected Republican challenges to the judicial map selection.
Current map: eight Democrats, 20 Republicans
New map: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on May 4 that he had signed revised U.S. House districts that improve the GOP’s chances of winning four additional seats.
Challenges: Court challenges contend the new map violates a state constitution provision prohibiting districts from being drawn with intent to favor or disfavor a political party.
Current map: one Democrat, eight Republicans
New map: Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed new U.S. House districts May 7 that improve the GOP's chances of winning an additional seat by carving up the lone Democratic-held seat, a Black-majority district that includes Memphis.
Challenges: Court challenges are expected ahead of the primaries, which are scheduled for Aug. 6.
A demonstrator holds up a sign outside the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Ala., on Thursday, May, 7 2026. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler)
State troopers remove people from the House gallery during a special session of the state legislature to redraw U.S. Congressional voting maps Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
