Clashes as South Africa’s leader refuses to quit

TENSIONS were rising in South Africa yesterday as the country’s embattled president refused to stand down.

Scuffles broke out as senior officials debated their next move – a fresh attempt tomorrow to replace Jacob Zuma, whose tenure has been engulfed by corruption scandals.

Mr Zuma is expected to give a key speech later this week but opponents want him to stand aside before then.

He is due to step down as the country’s head of state next year but many want him to leave now and are pushing for Cyril Ramaphosa, the new head of the African National Congress party and the nation’s deputy president, to replace him.

But Zuma loyalists say the president should complete his second and final term in office, which would end when elections are held next year.

Scuffles erupted at the ANC headquarters in Johannesburg as the party met yesterday to discuss whether 75year-old Zuma should stay in office.