South Africa’s Ramaphosa dealt twin blows in anti-graft fight
JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa suffered two major setbacks yesterday, when he was accused of misleading parliament and his predecessor Jacob Zuma won significant concessions from a corruption inquiry.
Ramaphosa has staked his reputation on cleaning up South African politics since he replaced Zuma as head of state in February 2018 and then won a first full five-year term in May.
But he has been constrained by factional battles in the governing African National Congress (ANC), where a section of the party remains loyal to Zuma and has launched a fightback against reforms which threaten their influence.
Zuma has ducked and dived this week at the inquiry, which is testing allegations that he allowed cronies to plunder state resources and influence senior appointments during his nine years in power. He has denied those allegations.
He complained that he was being questioned unfairly, but yesterday he secured a deal whereby he will provide only written statements for now, before returning later to give more public testimony.
Political analysts say if the inquiry, which Zuma set up in his final weeks in office under pressure from rivals including Ramaphosa, fails to link the former president to serious wrongdoing it could dent Ramaphosa’s credibility.
“By being aggressively uncooperative and engaging in legal technicalities, Zuma has undermined the integrity of the inquiry. It is awfully embarrassing for Ramaphosa,” said Ralph Mathekga, an author of books on Zuma and Ramaphosa.
Zuma is a shrewd operator who survived several no-confidence votes before being ousted as president.
As head of intelligence for the outlawed ANC under apartheid he was privy to sensitive information which he has threatened to use against former comrades in the liberation struggle.
After the inquiry adjourned on Friday, he made a rousing speech to several hundred supporters in downtown Johannesburg, saying spies had infiltrated the ANC and that he was ready to expose them.
“I know a lot about spies. That was my job in the ANC. I’ve never played around with that information, but if people want me to uproot them I will,” Zuma said, before leading the crowd in renditions of struggle songs.