The Western Cape High Court on Friday paused impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa while he challenges a parliamentary report tied to the 2020 theft of more than $580,000 from his farm.
That report had prompted lawmakers in June to launch impeachment steps over why so much cash was kept in a sofa, where the money came from, whether foreign currency was declared, and why police were not immediately notified.
The ruling does not freeze all work: the impeachment committee can continue preparatory tasks, and parties represented on it said they would study the judgment and consider an appeal.
Ramaphosa welcomed the decision and said he would cooperate with accountability processes, even after the Constitutional Court earlier this year upheld the report's validity and said impeachment could proceed.
The Phala-Phala scandal has dogged Ramaphosa since he took office in 2018, keeping pressure on a president whose party had previously used its parliamentary majority to block impeachment.