'I will not resign': South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa rejects calls to quit

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has rejected calls to quit despite an impeachment committee being set up to reinvestigate allegations that he hid the theft of cash stashed in his sofas.

"I will not resign," he insisted in a TV address on Monday, adding that "the complaints against me are based on hearsay allegations".

Mr Ramaphosa, 73, said he would legally challenge a parliamentary report which found credible evidence of wrongdoing on his part.

Explainer: What is Cyril Ramaphosa accused of?

He spoke just hours after South Africa's parliament said it would establish the impeachment committee in compliance with a decision of the highest court last week.

It ruled that a 2022 parliament vote, blocking impeachment proceedings over the scandal, was unconstitutional.

He has faced calls to step down while in the middle of his second term as president, which has been plagued by corruption allegations.

In 2022, he was accused of stashing $4m (£2.93m) in foreign ​currency in sofas at his private game farm and then covering up its theft - a scandal nicknamed 'Farmgate'.

The president acknowledged the money had been stolen, but disputed the amount and said it was $580,000 (£472,000) which had come from the sale of buffalo.

An independent report said there was "legitimate doubt" over the source of the money, and some evidence that the amount was more than what Mr Ramaphosa claimed.

It found evidence of wrongdoing by the president in allegedly not properly reporting the theft to police and trying to keep an investigation to recover the money secret.

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He was able to use his parliamentary majority to mobilise his party, the African National Congress (ANC), and prevent an impeachment process.

But that was overturned on Friday after a campaign by the far-left Economic Freedom ⁠Fighters (EFF) party.

On Monday, Mr Ramaphosa challenged any allegations of wrongdoing.

"No evidence, let alone sufficient evidence, has been presented to prove that I committed any violation, let alone a serious violation of the constitution or the law or serious misconduct as set out in the constitution," he added in his national address.

Mr Ramaphosa's ANC party lost its parliamentary majority in a landmark 2024 election and is now the largest in a coalition government of 10 parties.

He still could survive an impeachment vote if his party's politicians back him.

(c) Sky News 2026: 'I will not resign': South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa rejects calls to quit