DA spokesperson Karabo Khakhau said the ruling on Phala Phala reinforces the party’s long-standing position on ethics and clean governance.
Image: DA /X
The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it will fully participate in the parliamentary process following the Constitutional Court's ruling that the National Assembly acted unlawfully when it rejected the Section 89 Independent Panel report into President Cyril Ramaphosa's Phala Phala scandal.
The court has ordered Parliament to properly process the Section 89 panel report, reopening the possibility of a full impeachment inquiry into the President.
The ruling came exactly 521 days after the matter was argued before the court, a delay that had itself become a national controversy.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, DA spokesperson Karabo Khakhau said the judgment reinforces the party’s long-standing position on ethics, clean governance and constitutionalism.
Khakhau stressed that the DA’s values remain unchanged and that the party will not shield wrongdoing, regardless of who is implicated.
“We remain a party of ethics, clean governance and constitutionalism. No one should expect the DA to tolerate wrongdoing — even if that wrongdoing is done by the President of the Republic of South Africa,” she told the broadcaster.
According to Khakhau, the party rejects any suggestion that political considerations could weaken accountability.
“We will never be a party that protects misconduct, covers up corruption or weakens accountability for political convenience,” she said. “Those who hold the highest offices in the land must be held to the highest standards of honesty, transparency and accountability at all costs.”
The spokesperson confirmed that the DA will participate fully in the impeachment committee process that is expected to follow the court’s ruling.
Addressing concerns about the party’s role within the Government of National Unity (GNU), Khakhau said the DA does not view its position as conflicted.
“The DA is not in a difficult position as a member of the GNU because accountability doesn’t have a middle ground,” she said. “Accountability must go full throttle to everybody who deserves to be at the hand of it.”
She added that the party’s priority is to ensure the process is not diluted. “Ours is to make sure that no one dilutes the process and no one gets to escape it. Even if it means our relationship with the president is uncomfortable, the primary issue is to remain loyal to our people.”
Meanwhile, the newly elected DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewi, said the party the judgment draws a clear line between the DA and the ANC.
"For too long, the ANC has presided over a political culture in which accountability is delayed, diluted or avoided when it becomes inconvenient. The DA stands for a different kind of politics in which the constitution comes before party loyalty, and no leader is shielded from answering to the people," he said.
When the matter first came to light, the party was outspoken in its criticism, characterising the incident as a potential “cover-up” involving serious allegations of corruption and calling for thorough investigations into the conduct of Ramaphosa.
The DA openly supported Ramaphosa’s impeachment and wrote a letter to SARS and the FBI in the US relating to the undeclared dollars that were stuffed in couches on the president’s farm. However, the party's position has since evolved, particularly after entering into a coalition with the ANC. The DA made it clear that it would not back moves to remove Ramaphosa from office.
At the time, then-DA federal chairperson Helen Zille said: “We’ll deal with the issues as they come up. Our position is that we look at the evidence and we make a decision based on the evidence.
“We believe in the rule of law. It’s not the DA’s business to investigate alleged criminal cases. The police have to do that..." Zille said at the time.
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