South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa Retains Presidency Despite Money Laundering Scandal

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa maintains his position as the country's leader despite being dogged by a money laundering scandal.

The announcement of the official's victory came at the end of the African National Congress (ANC) National Elective Conference, which began on Friday. Ramaphosa last week survived a move to start impeachment proceedings against him in a vote in parliament.

Cyril Ramaphosa's Presidential Victory

Around the same time last week, the ANC parliamentary caucus largely voted to block an investigation into an ongoing scandal after initial evidence found that Ramaphosa could have violated his oath of office.

The allegations against the South African president include the theft of more than $500,000 in cash from his private game farm in 2020. The cash was allegedly stored inside a leather sofa, said the panel investigation.

The panel, which was led by a former chief justice, found that the crime was not reported to the police and that there was a "deliberate decision to keep the investigation secret." There were previous rumors that Ramaphosa would resign, but his lawyers later sought to challenge the panel's findings in court. Furthermore, Ramaphosa continued to deny the allegations, saying that the cash was from the sale of wildlife at his Phala Phala farm, as per CNN.

The South African president was first confirmed as the nation's leader in 2018 after Jacob Zuma, who was scandal-plagued, was effectively forced out of office by his own party. He made his name as a trade union leader during the apartheid era and was previously the chief negotiator for Nelson Mandela.

Previously, Mandela made it clear that he wished for Ramaphosa to replace him after the end of his presidency. However, the latter lost the presidential race at the time to Thabo Mbeki, who was another anti-apartheid leader who came back to the country after living in exile.

According to BBC, in the recent elections, Ramaphosa defeated his rival, Zweli Mkhize, with a result of 2,476 votes to 1,897 votes. The latter is also accused of corruption and, similar to Ramaphosa, denies the accusations against him.

Money Laundering Scandal

Despite his victory, the South African president is still at risk of being investigated by police, the tax office, and the central bank over the allegations. A panel of legal experts, who were appointed by the speaker of parliament, said that Ramaphosa had a case to answer as he may have both violated the Constitution and broken an anti-corruption law.

Following the results of the election, Ramaphosa's supporters burst into song and dance when they saw the result that saw him win by a bigger margin than when he first ran for the leadership of the governing party, the ANC, in 2017.

A professor at the University of Witwatersrand and political analyst Susan Boysen said that Ramaphosa's side also controls four out of the party's top seven positions. She noted that these include crucial positions such as the national chair and treasurer-general of the ANC.

Boysen said that the investigation regarding the mysterious money is not yet over, adding that there was no clear-cut finding as of yet. She added that opposition parties saw the vulnerability of the situation, the Voice of America News reported.