The disclosure of the hoarding of a huge sum of foreign currency on the president’s ranch was only the beginning. For reasons no one can explain, the cash was hidden in sofas. Instead of reporting the theft to the police, officers from the presidential protection force were allegedly dispatched to track down the missing money.

So far Ramaphosa has admitted the theft took place, but said the money was the legitimate takings from an auction of prized cattle and that he has done nothing wrong. After missing several deadlines and the threat of a subpoena, he answered 31 questions posed by the constitutionally mandated Office of the Public Protector on Friday.

Supporters of the president say he is the victim of a smear campaign before a likely brutal contest to win a second term as president of the ANC in December at a party conference. This would set up Ramaphosa to win a second term as president of South Africa at elections in 2024. As the incumbent, and one of the few ANC politicians with popular appeal, he is the favourite.

“It’s very difficult to tell what he has done wrong. He seems keener to appease the party than be transparent with the people. So it looks like an amateurish cover-up … and that has serious consequences for the integrity of our institutions,” February said.

“In the South African political system, the ability to build complex coalitions is key to winning top positions and Ramaphosa is very good at this,” said Anthony Butler, a professor of political studies at the University of Cape Town and biographer of the president. “But the crisis that South Africa is in at the moment doesn’t need coalitions, it needs decisions. Simply saying the right things to different audiences just gives people the sense that [Ramaphosa] can’t chart a way forward.”

The president has never hidden his wealth, estimated at as much as $700m, and has dismissed criticism as racist and hypocritical. But his fortune, acquired during a decade away from politics after being passed over as successor when Mandela stepped down as president in 1999, has sometimes proved a weakness. Ten years ago police shot dead 34 striking miners from a company in which he was involved.

Source: The Guardian

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