South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (70), who is under great pressure, has ruled out resignation. “President Ramaphosa is not resigning or is resigning on the basis of a false report,” his spokesman Vincent Magwenya said on Saturday. Ramaphosa also wants to take legal action against impending impeachment proceedings. According to his spokesman, the president is considering challenging the report of a commission of inquiry in court.
Ramaphosa has been under a lot of pressure since the investigation report into an alleged robbery at his farm was released on Wednesday. According to the parliamentary commission of inquiry, it found sufficient evidence of misconduct by Ramaphosa to warrant impeachment proceedings.
After he was still expected to resign or be removed from office on Thursday, many influential representatives from politics, business and the church supported him on Friday. The head of the Anglican Church in South Africa, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, even warned that the country risked falling into “anarchy” if he resigned.
Ramaphosa wants to be confirmed as chairman
The board of directors of Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) party held an emergency meeting on Friday, but was quickly adjourned. Another meeting is scheduled for Monday. Parliament meets on Tuesday for a special session.
The investigative report details Ramaphosa’s role in an alleged robbery at his Phala Phala estate in February 2020. A former intelligence chief accused Ramaphosa in June of hiding $4 million in cash at his luxury mansion. After a break-in at his farm, Ramaphosa is said to have organized the kidnapping and bribing of the burglars, so that it would remain a secret that he had so much money stored there.
Ramaphosa, on the other hand, claims that the equivalent of CHF 550,000 was stolen from him, which was hidden under his couch cushions. This amount was paid to him by a Sudanese man who bought buffalo from his farm. Ramaphosa dismissed the allegations of his own misconduct before the Commission of Inquiry as “totally baseless”.
The scandal comes at the worst possible time for Ramaphosa: the 70-year-old wants to be confirmed as president of the ANC in mid-December. Re-election as party leader would also pave the way for a second term as president. His spokesman stressed on Saturday that the party had nominated Ramaphosa for a second term as head of the ANC. The president took this “unmistakable message” to heart, Magwenya said. “The president’s understanding of this message is that he must continue with both governmental and economic reforms,” he added. (AFP/channel)