South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa has said despite the excessive state corruption while he was deputy to former president Jacob Zuma, he chose to “remain but resist” rather than resign.
Gatekeepers News reports that Ramaphosa served as Zuma’s deputy for four years from May 2014 before succeeding him in February 2018.
On Wednesday, he appeared before a judicial panel probing the alleged mass looting of state coffers during Zuma’s 2009 to 2018 presidency.
“I had five options: resign; speak out; acquiesce and abet; remain and keep silent, or remain and resist,” Ramaphosa said.
He noted that if he had quit his job, “This action would have significantly impaired my ability to contribute to bringing about an end” to the corruption.
Ramaphosa said he decided to stay to “resist some of the more egregious and obvious abuses of power”.
“With the benefit of hindsight, I am certain that this was the necessary and correct course of action,” he said.
Gatekeepers News reports that Wednesday was Ramaphosa’s second appearance before the panel and his testimony is expected to run through Thursday.
The corruption panel will make recommendations to prosecutors when it decides at the end of September.
Ramaphosa had, during his first appearance before the commission in April, admitted that corruption had taken root within the ruling ANC, which has governed the nation since the end of the apartheid in 1994.
Zuma is currently serving a 15-month jail term for contempt of court after he frequently refused to appear before corruption investigators to give evidence.
