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The fate of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa mobilized all attention on Thursday, the day after the publication of a report claiming that he “may have committed” “violations and faults”, in the context of a scandal. around a burglary that has been poisoning him for months.
He could be impeached. the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is stepping up “consultations” with ANC heavyweights and is expected to make an “imminent announcement” as he faces impeachment proceedings linked to a scandal that has plagued him for months, 1is December its spokesperson.
Cyril Ramaphosa continues to “study a number of options in the best interest of the country”, he repeated, specifying that the president “is still examining the report” published on Wednesday which affirms that he “may have committed” “violations and faults” in the context of a scandal around a burglary.
Emergency meeting on Friday
Senior officials of the historic party in power in South Africathe ANC – of which Cyril Ramaphosa is the president, which automatically earns him the title of head of state – also announced an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss his situation.
Cyril Ramaphosa, 70, is in a very bad position, under the threat of dismissal proceedings after the publication the day before of the report of a parliamentary commission.
However, this procedure would have little chance of succeeding because it requires a two-thirds majority vote in the Assembly, where Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC holds a comfortable majority.
A bizarre burglary case
The case begins in February 2020, when burglars break into one of the luxurious properties of the South African president, who made his fortune in business before returning to politics.
The thieves are neutralized, sequestered for long hours, according to the initial complaint filed in June which sparked the scandal. Large sums of cash are found under the cushions of a sofa. The complaint accuses Cyril Ramaphosa of not having reported the incident, neither to the police nor to the tax authorities.
Cyril Ramaphosa, whom South Africans colloquially call “Cyril”, categorically denies it. But the report casts doubt on the explanations given by the president on these 580,000 dollars in camouflaged cash.
Cyril Ramaphosa “is studying all the possibilities”
Under the pressure of the scandal and the hypothesis of a dismissal, Cyril Ramaphosa must also face the meeting of the ANC from December 16 to 20, a crucial deadline for his political future.
It is during this meeting that the ANC chooses its next leader, who will become head of state after the general elections of 2024, if however the party, faced with growing disenchantment, wins the ballot.
In the last local elections, in 2021, the ANC fell below 50% for the first time in its history.
Faced with increasing calls for resignation, from the opposition as well as from members of the ANC, plagued by internal wars, the president appears to be weakened.
According to a source close to the presidency, Cyril Ramaphosa is “studying all the possibilities”.
With AFP