Daily Dispatch
Ramaphosa and the royals
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has been a busy man lately. Over the past few days he has literally been crisscrossing the country – visiting AmaZulu King Goodwill Zwelithini in Nongoma on Monday and then meeting AmaXhosa King Xolilizwe Sigcawu at his Nqadu Great Place in Willowvale yesterday.
Ramaphosa was warmly received by the king and was even presented with an ox – a sign of acceptance and respect from the monarch.
Ramaphosa – a cattle farmer in his own right – also came bearing gifts, presenting the king with three heifers.
It is clear that Ramaphosa is trying to win the hearts and minds of traditional leaders, and in the process, also ingratiate himself with the masses who support the ANC.
He also wants to chart a new course for the ANC and restore its tainted image – battered by President Jacob Zuma’s ceaseless scandals, from state capture, the controversial Gupta brothers, to his own personal shenanigans.
Ramaphosa made this clear when he addressed ANC supporters at the East London City Hall on Monday afternoon.
The ANC, he said, was committed to rooting out corruption.
“The ANC is back with a bang . . . we will be dealing with those stealing public money,” he said.
He understands that if the ANC is to retain power next year, the new leadership has to do everything to extricate itself from the destructive politics of the past 10 years of Zuma’s rein.
But as politicians are wont to do, especially when trying to woo support, they overpromise and make commitments that they have no intentions of keeping.
Such was the case in Nqadu yesterday when King Sigcawu made a plea to Ramaphosa for the release of incarcerated AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo – serving a 12-year jail sentence. He has served two years of his sentence related to a number of crimes linked to the disciplining of his subjects. Sigcawu said: “We are very worried about the incarceration of Zwelibanzi [King Dalindyebo]. Our hearts are bleeding. Please release Zwelibanzi now.”
Responding to the king, ANC chairman Gwede Mantashe rather tip-toed around the issue of Dalindyebo’s incarceration, before adding that it was something that “affects us all. The leaders must look at the release of the king”.
But Ramaphosa, for good reason, did not address the Dalindyebo issue in his remarks. While presidential pardons are the sole preserve of the state president – Zuma in this case – it is clear that Ramaphosa is ready to take over power.
However, he ought to be careful how he handles the King Dalindyebo issue. Obviously his release would please the king’s subjects, but such a decision could send a wrong message.
King Dalindyebo should only be released if he has satisfied the basic requirements for a parole. The government represents all of the citizens of the land – not only the famous and the powerful. Ramaphosa and the ANC government should tread carefully on this one.