Ramaphosa shrugs off ‘Farmgate’ scandal to win reelection as leader of S’Africa’s ANC
Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa, has been re-elected as leader of the country’s ruling African National Congress (ANC).
In the results announced on Monday, Ramaphosa polled 2,476 votes to defeat Zweli Mkhize, a former health minister, who got 1,897 votes.
Mkhize was part of Ramaphosa’s government until he was forced to resign in 2021 over allegations of misspending funds set aside to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
He denied the accusations and his supporters saw the claims as an attempt to discredit him.
Ramaphosa’s triumph as ANC leader positions him to seek a second term as South Africa’s president in 2024.
The president’s victory comes amid allegations of breaking anti-corruption laws by stashing undeclared money in his farm.
TheCable had reported that Ramaphosa was facing impeachment threats after an independent panel set up by the speaker of South Africa’s parliament said findings suggested that the president acted in a manner that was inconsistent with his office.
The report centred on the alleged theft of $580,000 cash from Ramaphosa’s farm in 2020, which came to light in June 2022.
The president was accused of covering up the theft, and the panel had raised questions about how the cash was acquired.
He had, however, denied any wrongdoings.
Ramaphosa escaped impeachment when South Africa’s parliament voted 214 to 148 in his favour.
A majority of the votes came from the ruling party, preventing the motion from getting the two-thirds vote needed to proceed with the impeachment process. (The Cable)
