‘There will always be mishaps’ – Ramaphosa hopes Morero will be forgiven for swearing at resident

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the ANC does not condone the behaviour of Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero after his outburst at a resident, but it accepts that mishaps take place while politicians are campaigning.

Ramaphosa made these comments while campaigning in Orange Farm, Gauteng, on Sunday.

It comes after Morero argued with a community member in Tshepisong on Thursday. After the resident called the mayor a criminal, Morero repeatedly told him “you’re talking s***t”.

On Friday, Morero apologised for shouting at the resident.

‘There will always be mishaps’ – Ramaphosa

Ramaphosa said he hopes Morero will be forgiven.

“Our mayor did make an utterance which we find completely unacceptable, but he has apologised. He has gone public and apologised. We, as the ANC, have taken him up on that. I do hope that our people will be able to accept the apology that he has given.”

The president, however, denied that the ANC needed to do damage control after the incident. He even seemed to brush it off as a “mishap”.

“It has not been damage control. Our people here did not even raise the issue. So, we move ahead, and in any campaign there will always be mishaps. There’ll be missteps, and we are people and we will always make mistakes. The important thing is whether we humble ourselves enough to be able to say we apologise.”

Watch: Ramaphosa on Morero’s outburst

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has criticised Joburg Mayor Dada Morero's outburst during a recent Tshepisong service delivery meeting. Morero swore at a resident who accused him of being a criminal, but has since apologised. Tune in to #eNCA on #DStv403. pic.twitter.com/REVCeVIeOf

— eNCA (@eNCA) August 30, 2026

ANC’s mayoral candidates

Ramaphosa also brushed aside criticism directed at the ANC after it delayed announcing its mayoral candidate for Johannesburg last week.

He gave a bizarre explanation for the ANC not releasing the names of its candidates, saying the party is “not a copycat organisation”.

“It should never be said that what other parties do, we should also do. We don’t copycat; we are original in everything that we do. So, leave us with our originality as we go into the elections and just watch this space,” he said.

Last weekend, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the party will only reveal its candidate in September.

The race in Joburg is between Morero, his deputy mayor Loyiso Masuku and Reverend Frank Chikane. However, sources have told The Citizen that Chikane had pulled out of the mayoral race.

Phala Phala

Ramaphosa also refused to comment on the Section 89 impeachment proceedings against him.

In May, he filed papers in the Western Cape High Court to review the findings of a Section 89 independent panel that looked into the Phala Phala scandal.

The panel, in its report, concluded that the president had questions to answer over the theft of approximately $580 000 (about R9.6 million) from his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo on 9 February 2020.

Ramaphosa’s application, however, has halted impeachment proceedings against him.

“That issue is in Parliament and it’s in our courts. As I always say, the court and our Parliament are really capable of handling this matter… it’s best left there without much comment on my side, because that is the way I handle these matters,” he said.