The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is in trouble for an alleged covering of theft in his luxuryfarm.
Is President Cyril Ramaphosa Resigning?
Despite the long call for Ramaphosa to resign as the President of South Asia, there hasn’t been a final decision or agreement for it. The high youth unemployment rate, the current electricity crisis, the rising cost of living, and increase in gender-based violence are some of the issues getting out of hand under Cyril’s governance.
These living circumstances of the people of South Africa have outraged them to call the President out and pressurize the awaited resignation. Although the issues existing today are not something that has arisen in his term but they have been pre-existing for the past twenty-eight years.
They have been existing as systemic problems deep-rooted in SA societies. However, the problem with the current President is that instead of working on resolving these social, economic, and political problems, he is avoiding them instead of working to solve them.
The amount of issues piled up in the state was already overwhelming and in addition, the corruption scandals have now given a final whistle for the citizens to pour their outrage on to the streets.
The 2020 case of a robbery in the President’s luxury farm Phala Phala where the burglars stole money hidden in the furnitures has been of peak interest. Ramaphosa is being accused of concealing the case and silenting the burglars about the money which allegedly is corrupted.
What Happened To South African President?
Former head of the South African State Security Agency, Arthur Fraser filed a criminal complaint against Cyril Ramaphosa accusing him of kidnapping, bribery, money laundering, concealing the theft of $4 million in his Phala Phala farm including photographs, documents, and cctv footages as evidence.
In response to the allegations, the President soon admitted about the robbery incident that happened on February, 2022. However, he denied that the money was corrupted and that it was from the ‘proceeds from the sale of game’. It is questionable why it would be hidden like that if that was the case.
Taking a closer look at the details, Ramaphosa’s housekeeper discovered the money hidden in many furnitures and asked her brother to help her rob it. They stole the money while he was abroad but with the help of his head of security recovered the money and even identified the conspirers.
The robbers involved were then paid almost $10,000 to keep silent about the robbery and the money.
Even thought he had vowed to eradicate corruption from its roots after winning the election, it seems that he hasn’t been true to his vows. This controversy definitely will impact the voters’ mindsets for the national election that the ruling party African National Congress has been preparing to hold.
Who Will Be His Successor?
While these allegations are on-going, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson has firmly denied them and given a statement about the President being focused on rebuilding the economy. Despite this, there are evident statement from Nambian President about how he implemented a criminal search, arrested one of the thieves who had fled from South Africa, and sent him back to the country.
Following this serious incident, opposition parties have already called him out for resignation.
The former President Zuma had been thrown out with a vote of no confidence in response to the corruption he committed of about $16 million of taxpayer money. We can anticipate the similar rage towards the current President too.
His critics shared that the crime of corruption he has committed is on the same level as Zuma and so the concsequence should be no different. Leader of Economic Freedom Fighters said the same thing clarifying Ramaphosa’s engagement in money laundering and illicit financial flow should be taken into account and treated the same way.
He has however declined all the allegations and also had asked for extension to answer questions in relation to the Phala Phala scandal. To this, the SA corruption watchdog has now declared that it will use subpoena powers to get answers from the President.
It is only a matter of time that the truth would come forward. For people who have been watching closely, the answers might be already there even if not officially declared guilty. Although it is not confirmed who would be up next for South Africa’s Presidency, it seems only consequential that Cyril Ramaphosa will be ousted.