Former South African President Jacob Zuma, forced to resign in 2018 following corruption charges, accused his successor Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday October 22 of "
treason
"
and
"
being corrupt"
, two months before a important meeting of the ruling party.
This violent charge against the Head of State places Cyril Ramaphosa in turmoil, elected on the promise to fight against corruption, before the ANC decided, at its December congress, whether or not to present him as a candidate for a second presidential term in 2024.
"
No president should manage private affairs when he is in office
", because this is contrary to the oath taken by the head of state, continued Jacob Zuma during a press conference in Johannesburg.
The latter, in power from 2009 to 2018, then wondered what would have happened if he had been accused of hiding "
millions of dollars under his mattress
", adding that no president, including Nelson Mandela, was found with large sums of money in their home.
A burglary at the heart of the charges
An independent commission was set up in September by the South African Parliament to investigate a burglary case that has been bothering President Ramaphosa for several months, accused of money laundering and corruption.
The results of the investigation could lead to a possible vote in Parliament for his impeachment.
Cyril Ramaphosa is accused of having concealed from the police and the tax authorities a burglary dating from 2020 in one of his properties, during which large sums of cash were found, hidden in furniture.
An investigation was opened after a complaint was filed in June by former South African intelligence chief Arthur Fraser.
According to the latter, burglars broke into a farm belonging to the president in Phala Phala, in the north-east of the country, and stole four million dollars (4.08 million euros) in cash.
The complaint accuses Cyril Ramaphosa of having concealed the burglary from the police and from the tax authorities the money found on the spot, as well as of having organized the kidnapping and interrogation of the thieves, then of having bribed them to keep them the silence.
"Political maneuver"
The former president denounces a political maneuver, denies the allegations of kidnapping and corruption, questions the amount of the theft mentioned and maintains that the money came from the sale of cattle.
But for ex-president Zuma, the ANC conference in December "
will have to deal with this case
" and decide whether the president can stay or not.
“
Many say the president has failed
,” he continued.
Former President Zuma, sentenced to 15 months in prison for stubbornly refusing to respond to a commission investigating corruption, finished serving his sentence at the beginning of the month.
Two months after starting his sentence, Jacob Zuma was released for health reasons and placed under judicial supervision.
