South Africa’s parliament has set up an independent panel to decide whether to charge President Cyril Ramaphosa with allegedly covering up a raid on his luxury farmhouse.

National Assembly spokesman Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula named the body in a statement overnight on Wednesday.

It consists of former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, a former prominent Supreme Court Justice and a university professor.

A two-thirds majority in the National Assembly is required to remove a president. However, Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) holds more than two-thirds of the seats.

A small opposition party, the African Transformation Movement (ATM), made the motion that led to the founding of the body.

The Ramaphosa scandal erupted in June after South Africa’s former national spy chief Arthur Fraser lodged a complaint with the police.

He claimed robbers broke into the president’s farm in the northeast of the country, where they stole $4 million in cash hidden in furniture.

Ramaphosa hid the robbery from authorities and instead arranged for the robbers to be kidnapped and questioned and then silenced, Fraser said.

The president has admitted a burglary but denies the kidnapping and bribery allegations and said he reported the burglary to police.

He has also disputed the amount of money, saying the money came from legitimate sales of game from his animal breeding farm.

In June, Ramaphosa suspended the country’s ombudsman a day after she opened an investigation into the burglary.

Last week the High Court rejected the suspension, saying the “hasty nature” of the move “could have been retaliatory”.

Pressure has mounted on Ramaphosa ahead of an ANC conference in December where he is expected to seek re-election.

The panel has 30 days to report its findings.