South Africa’s former presidents should stop attacking President Cyril Ramaphosa in public, the ANC in Limpopo said in a statement on Sunday.
“The African National Congress in Limpopo has noted with great disappointment the conduct of former presidents – Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma and Kgalema Motlanthe for developing a penchant for publicly attacking President Ramaphosa,” it said in a statement.
The call came a day after Zuma accused Ramaphosa of treason at a media briefing in Johannesburg on Saturday, his first public address since completing his 15-month jail sentence which he finished outside on medical parole for contempt of court.
During the media briefing, Zuma told journalists that the Phala Phala scandal is not being handled with the same aggression as the cost of security upgrades at his Nkandla homestead.
Also on Saturday during the annual general meeting of the Strategic Dialogue Group, Mbeki said the ANC is led by criminals.
“When you talk renewal of the ANC, you’re carrying too much baggage of wrong people. You have to have the courage to face that you have a renewed ANC led by criminals,” said Mbeki.
He stated that the ANC’s top leaders should meet to discuss whether or not Ramaphosa should step aside regarding the Phala Phala saga, pending the outcome of the investigation by an independent panel headed by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo.
“As comrades know, they have been given 30 days to do that. The 30 days will run out sometime in the month of November. What happens if they say he has got a case to answer? What do we do?”
The ANC in Limpopo said while it is the former presidents’ constitutional right to express their views, such expression should be raised within the party structures.
It said Ramaphosa should be given the time and space to lead the party and government, adding that the challenges faced by the party and the nation cannot be attributed to him.
To read more political news and views, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
