EFF leads picket for long-delayed Phala Phala judgment

Supporters of the EFF came out in numbers to protest at the Constitutional Court on Wednesday, demanding a ruling be made regarding the Phala Phala saga.

The party intensified pressure for the release of the long-delayed judgment linked to the Phala Phala scandal, which involves President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Dressed in the party’s signature red regalia, supporters sang and chanted as they filled the steps of Constitutional Hill in Braamfontein, expressing their calls for accountability and transparency.

The picket, led by the EFF in Gauteng, is part of pressure on the apex court to release the judgment, which the party says has been withheld for more than a year and five months.

EFF Gauteng communications officer Dumisani Baleni said the party would continue mobilising until there was clarity.

Baleni described the delay as a “miscarriage of justice”, arguing that it created the perception that Ramaphosa was being shielded from accountability.

Baleni said the party believed multiple institutions had failed to act decisively on the matter.

“Parliament protected him, and now it looks like the Constitutional Court is also refusing to release a judgment on the president,” he said.

The Phala Phala matter stems from the theft of foreign currency from Ramaphosa’s private farm in Limpopo, which has raised questions about the handling of the incident and whether proper legal processes were followed.

Baleni further criticised what he described as a lack of communication from the court regarding the delay.

“There is a total blackout. There is no communication, no clarity as to what is happening,” he said, adding that the court risked being seen as drawn into political processes.

He said the EFF expected the judiciary to be independent and impartial, especially in matters involving the head of state. “If you can’t hold the first citizen accountable, imagine what is happening with ordinary people.”

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