Vincent Magwenya, Spokesman to Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, has said Ramaphosa will not step aside or resign from office due to a ‘flawed panel report’.
Gatekeepers News reports that Ramaphosa is facing a possible impeachment threat over alleged corruption and the covering up of the alleged theft of $580,000 from Ramaphosa’s farm in 2020 which came to light in June.
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 President had been accused of covering up the theft, and the panel had raised questions about how the cash was acquired.
Reacting to the development on Sunday, Magwanya said Ramaphosa would fight on and seek a Second term as leader of his African National Congress party.
“President Ramaphosa is not resigning based on a flawed report, neither is he stepping aside.”
“It may be in the long-term interest and sustainability of our constitutional democracy, well beyond the Ramaphosa presidency, that such a clearly flawed report is challenged.”
Ramaphosa was sworn into office in May 2019 and is weeks away from an elective conference that will decide if he gets to run for a second term in the country’s 2024 polls.
If the parliament finds the President guilty of serious misconduct, the process for an impeachment vote could be set in motion.