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EFF’s ultimatum to Ramaphosa – ‘Step down by Thursday, or we’ll treat you like we did Zuma’
The party will mobilise 'sectors of society' to stop recognising him as president.
EFF leader Julius Malema at the IEC results center during a press briefing on 4 November 2021, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has given President Cyril Ramaphosa an ultimatum – step down with immediate effect or suffer the same fate as former president Jacob Zuma.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, Malema said Ramaphosa had failed to prove to South Africans that he is a worthy president and should now vacate the office.
Just like they did to Zuma, the EFF will use every opportunity to stop Ramaphosa from publicly speaking as president of South Africa.
“We gave Ramaphosa a chance to prove himself, he has dismally failed. We will treat him the same way we treated Zuma. He must leave the office with immediate effect because he has not respected his oath of office,” said the EFF leader.
“Everywhere and anywhere we find or see Ramaphosa and we have an opportunity to stop him from speaking in the name of South Africa, we will do so. We call upon all the fighters and the ground forces to start treating Ramaphosa as such.
“It will start on Thursday and it will be waya-waya until he let go of that office.
“That office must be occupied by a man of integrity, not a hypocrite or a man with double personalities. In front of cameras he’s something else, behind cameras he’s buying silence of girls not to speak. We will not allow that. We will not allow a president who lives a double life.
“If Ramaphosa refuses to step aside to allow transparent investigations to take place, the EFF will then mobilise many sectors of society to stop recognising him as a President of the Republic and will not permit him to perform any Presidential functions.”
Malema said the EFF had assembled a legal team to be led by Advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi to look into constitutional provisions to have Ramaphosa step aside.
Criminal charges against Ramaphosa
Former Correctional Services national commissioner Arthur Fraser dropped a bombshell last week after laying criminal charges against Ramaphosa at the Rosebank Police Station in Johannesburg.
The charges emanate from the alleged theft of over $4 million, which was allegedly concealed at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in Waterberg, Limpopo.
Fraser claims he has evidence of the theft, including photographs, bank accounts and video footage.
He said the criminals had colluded with Ramaphosa’s domestic worker.
Ramaphosa, according to Fraser, is then alleged to have concealed the crime from the police and the South African Revenue Service (Sars).
‘No basis for the claims’
In a statement on Thursday, the Presidency said it was aware that Fraser had laid a complaint against Ramaphosa with the South African Police Service.
“There is no basis for the claims of criminal conduct that have been made against him in Mr Fraser’s statement,” said the Presidency.
The Presidency also confirmed that a robbery took place at Ramaphosa’s farm in Limpopo on or around 9 February 2020, in which proceeds from the sale of game were stolen.
“The President was attending an African Union Summit in Addis Ababa at the time the incident occurred. On being advised of the robbery, President Ramaphosa reported the incident to the head of the Presidential Protection Unit of the South African Police Service for investigation.
“President Ramaphosa stands ready to cooperate with any law enforcement investigation of these matters. President Ramaphosa remains resolute in leading the fight against corruption, restoring the integrity and capability of public institutions and overcoming the legacy of state capture, and will not be deterred by disinformation campaigns.”
The ruling party announced on Monday night that Ramaphosa will “voluntarily” present himself to its integrity commission.
The National Working Committee (NWC) met on Monday and received a briefing from the national officials regarding media reports on charges laid by Fraser against Ramaphosa.
“The NWC welcomed and commended the decision by the President to voluntarily present himself to the Integrity Commission in line with ANC policy,” it said in a statement on Monday night.
“The NWC will deliberate on the matter further once it has received a report from the National Officials.”
The South African Police Service (Saps) is currently investigating the robbery.
