Ramaphosa has feet of clay after all
The sex scandal surrounding Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa which has been unfolding since Friday is another chapter in the ongoing use of state intelligence to fight political battles.
Politics can indeed be dirty and it is not rare for political opponents to dig up skeletons out of the closets of their rivals.
The use of state institutions and resources to uncover such information is a cause for concern and should be rooted out. Nonetheless, we can’t ignore the allegations against Ramaphosa.
Politicians have it in their interests to be seen to be beyond reproach and having conduct that upholds the high ethical and moral standards. This is the image Ramaphosa has been trying to portray particularly in contrast to President Jacob Zuma who has come to epitomise the unethical and immoral by any measure.
The best way for any politician to do this though is to not have any skeletons to begin with and clearly Ramaphosa does. And now he has to face the questions and deal with the ramifications.
It will unfortunately not suffice for him to merely claim that the allegations that he has had extramarital affairs with seveal women is immaterial firstly because it doesn’t constitute a crime and secondly because he has admitted to having an affair eight years ago.
The confession does not nullify the suspicion in the minds of people who used to hold him in higher regard.
Questions have been raised about why Ramaphosa has stayed on in the scandal-prone Zuma administration. The recent revelations, although denied, seem to give a plausible answer. Could it be that this is what Zuma had been holding over his head all this time? How can we forget that unwitting confession by the ANC Women’s League president when she said that “we all have our smallernyana skeletons”, referring to ANC leaders?
The story is again not easy to dismiss because it has become the norm in this country that powerful men with money would use this to buy the favour and affection of more often than not desperate and vulnerable young women.
The allegations and his confession do tell us that Ramaphosa is not as incorruptible as he claims to be. This is a matter of grave concern because we have had the bitter taste of being led by an ethically and morally bankrupt leader. We need not repeat that.