President Cyril Ramaphosa
Image source: GCIS
President Cyril Ramaphosa
Image source: GCIS
Cyril Ramaphosa may have felt like he had no choice but to appear at the State Capture Inquiry. Indeed, absconding like his predecessor Jacob Zuma did would not have ended well – but the president’s compliance FAILED to score him any favourable coverage from Raymond Zondo.
The Chief Justice has highlighted at least eight areas of concern when it comes to Ramaphosa’s testimony at the Commission. Zondo even used the word ‘troublesome’ to describe the CR17 campaign funds controversy – the latest in a growing line of scandals engulfing the ANC leader.
#StateCaptureInquiry Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has picked numerous holes in and identified various defects over Ramaphosa’s evidence. He was particularly critical of Ramaphosa’s decision to redeploy former state security minister David Mahlobo and former SSA boss Arthur Fraser.
— Erin Bates (@ermbates) June 23, 2022
Ramaphosa has just about fended off the legal challenge to name the donors behind his presidential campaign. He has also emerged relatively unscathed after receiving money from the corrupt executives of Bosasa. Our head of state is also confident that ‘Farmgate’ will blow over.
But the shadow of state capture won’t stop stalking Ramaphosa, who served as South Africa’s Deputy President – and Jacob Zuma’s right-hand man – from 2012 to 2017. It’s generally accepted that these five years heralded ‘the peak’ of the Gupta-sponsored state looting spree.
Zondo has said his piece on Ramaphosa – but one excerpt from the State Capture Report is standing out above all others. The Chief Justice suspects that the president may have misled his Commission, when discussing the corruption that plagued the State Security Agency (SSA).