President Cyril Ramaphosa
PHOTO: Brenton Geach, Gallo Images
- One reason President Cyril Ramaphosa told close allies he wanted to resign was that he did not want the scandal he was embroiled in to affect the ANC’s electoral performance.
- He was convinced by the ANC national chairman, Gwede Mantashe, who reminded him that the ANC deployed him and that he needed to consult the party first.
- Some leaders told News24 they were anxious about what Ramaphosa’s departure would mean for their allies in the party.
Allies of President Cyril Ramaphosa worked on a strategy early Friday to mobilize members of the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) to come to his defense in an effort to stop his departure.
The president’s closest allies argued that he must defend himself at all costs, despite his insistence on resigning after an independent panel report found he may have violated the Constitution.
At first, there was concern about whether Ramaphosa had enough support to launch a political fight. But his allies convinced him that they could rally support for him.
ANC Chairman Gwede Mantashe was said to have been among those who shook Ramaphosa’s hand and said he could not announce his resignation without first speaking to the NEC.
On Friday, Ramaphosa’s allies said they would show the NEC that the panel’s report, led by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, was wrong in law and fact and that the president could not resign on the basis of a “report weak”.
An ANC NEC member who is loyal to Ramaphosa told News24:
We sat down and discussed it… We were worried we didn’t have the numbers, but we decided we can’t not fight. We can’t give your opponents what they want.
On Thursday, Ramaphosa told a group of his old friends and his closest allies in the Cabinet, during a series of consultations, that he had decided to resign because he did not want to be blamed for the ANC’s poor performance in the 2024 election.
A source with knowledge of the talks said Ramaphosa was determined that while he disagreed with the Section 89 panel’s report, resigning was the right thing to do.
The panel found that Ramaphosa may have violated the Constitution and anti-corruption laws related to his business dealings with Phala Phala.
Ramaphosa was convinced to delay announcing his resignation on Thursday despite saying he had no choice but to leave the presidency.
“He said it was better to go now. He doesn’t want this cloud hanging over him and the party, and then he gets blamed when the ANC doesn’t perform well,” the source said.
Ramaphosa, the source added, seemed unlikely to change his mind, but his allies dug in, saying he would “hand over the country to people who had worse accusations on their head.”
READ | Dramatic day: President’s resignation speech put on hold as Ramaphosa told him to ‘fight, fight, fight’
“He thought about it very clearly and said that even if he disputes the report, it will take a long time for him to be cleared. That’s why he said he was ready to go,” the source said.
In subsequent discussions at his private home in Cape Town, Ramaphosa told a group of ministers loyal to him that he could not make the case for renewing the ANC with the Phala Phala cloud hanging over his head.
“It seemed very clear that he could not champion the renewal in the game when he will be questioned at every turn,” the source said.
Ramaphosa added during consultations that he wanted to announce his departure as chairman on his own terms, ahead of the scheduled NEC meeting.
But, two sources said, Mantashe reminded him that he would have to speak to the ANC before speaking to the public.
“The public did not vote for Ramaphosa; they voted for the ANC. So first they needed to talk to the ANC and then announce their decision,” said an ANC NEC member.
While Ramaphosa’s allies in the cabinet tried to convince him that he could fight back, the president seemed unwilling to budge throughout Thursday.
He argued that he would be no different from those he hoped the ANC would get rid of.
Ramaphosa only succumbed to delaying the announcement of his resignation after a call with a group of ANC provincial chairmen.
“That’s when he realized he couldn’t announce this to the public before consulting with the ANC,” the second source said.
A provincial leader told News24 that he argued that Ngcobo’s report was not based on evidence and that the findings against Ramaphosa were flimsy.
“I said, how can the president resign because of a report that has no findings, but there are people in the CNE who have findings against him because of the Zondo report and that Zondo report has much more evidence than this report,” said the provincial president. he said.
At least two party leaders added that they were anxious about what Ramaphosa’s departure would mean for their allies in the party.
The NEC is expected to meet on Friday afternoon.
