after apartheid

South Africa: Will Ramaphosa’s ANC survive?

By Patrick Smith, Crystal Orderson

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Posted on June 25, 2021 12:27

Cyril Ramaphosa © South African President Cyril Ramaphosa waves as he arrives for the G7 meeting at the Carbis Bay Hotel in Carbis Bay, St. Ives, Cornwall, England, Saturday, 12 June 2021. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, Pool)
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa waves as he arrives for the G7 meeting at the Carbis Bay Hotel in Carbis Bay, St. Ives, Cornwall, England, Saturday, 12 June 2021. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, Pool)

Supporters of President Cyril Ramaphosa are lauding the vanquishing of his main opponent within the governing African National Congress (ANC) – former secretary general Ace Magashule.

No doubt Ramaphosa has scored a political victory in the councils of the ANC by squeezing out Magashule on corruption charges. It seems the legal battles – which pit Magashule (with the help of an expensive, opposition-aligned lawyer) against his own party – are set to stretch out much longer. This will wash the ANC’s dirty linen in public.

It will be up to the courts to decide on what should be an internal party matter. Ramaphosa may have allowed himself a celebratory drink and an extra-long bike ride. But the strategic side of his character will be telling him that it’s way too soon to declare ‘mission accomplished’. It may just be the end of the beginning.

Ace Magashule reminded his supporters at a rally for his patron, ex-pres-ident Jacob Zuma, in Pietermaritzburg: “I will never leave the ANC comrades, I will die in the ANC.”

If you’re looking for points of light, there are plenty. S

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