Despite being severely injured by a cash-heist scandal that had followed him for months, Cyril Ramaphosa, a pragmatic, affluent, and ambitious politician, was re-elected leader of South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress, on Monday.
A stepping stone to a second term as head of state is holding the ANC’s leadership position for almost three decades.
The ANC, the group founded by Nelson Mandela to lead the fight to abolish apartheid, is deeply divided, therefore the 70-year-old is in considerably worse position than when he was initially elected party leader in 2017.
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Ramaphosa promised a “new dawn” for South Africa when he was elected president in 2018, but controversy and a dismal economy have damaged his reputation.
He avoided being impeached earlier this month after allegations that he tried to cover up a break-in at his farmhouse were made by the opposition.
The guy who assumed control of Africa’s biggest industrialized economy on a promise to eradicate corruption has suffered a severe reputational damage as a result of revelations about the enormous sum of money that was stolen from beneath couch cushions.
“Previously he was this icon of the clean-up struggle, (a) paragon of virtue… with this (scandal) came so much doubt on his credentials and a reminder that this is not a superhuman (man),” said political analyst and author Susan Booysen.
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Ramaphosa was born on November 17, 1952, in Johannesburg’s Soweto neighborhood, the birthplace of the anti-apartheid movement. The son of a police officer and a homemaker, he had long coveted the position of South Africa’s head of state but had to take a long detour to get there.
He started becoming an activist while he was a law student in the 1970s, and in 1974, he was imprisoned for 11 months in solitary.
Ramaphosa chose to fight the white minority administration through trade unionism, one of the few legal avenues available.
Ramaphosa was a protege of Mandela, who once referred to him as one of the most talented leaders of the “new generation.” Ramaphosa stepped out of prison with Mandela in 1990.
He played a significant role in the task committee that oversaw the democratic transition.
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But after failing to succeed Mandela, Ramaphosa switched from politics to business, becoming one of the richest individuals in Africa.
He owned shares of McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, and he made millions through transactions that required investors to work with non-white owners.
Ramaphosa developed a passion for breeding rare cattle and buffaloes, which would turn out to be a bad commercial decision.
After placing a bid in 2012 for a beast for 18 million rand ($104,000), the opposition once dubbed him “The Buffalo.”
Later, he expressed regret for making the flashy proposal “in a sea of poverty.”
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When police killed 34 striking employees at a platinum mine in 2012, where he was then a non-executive director and had called for a crackdown, his reputation was severely damaged.
In 2014, he was appointed vice president for Zuma, and since then, he has frequently been under fire for his silence about official corruption.
Ramaphosa, who is renowned for his calm demeanor and strategic planning, narrowly overcame pro-Zuma competitors in 2017 to take over the ANC party’s leadership. Two months later, when Zuma was thrown out of office, Ramaphosa won the presidency.
He attracts a support base that cuts beyond South Africa’s racial and class divides when he appears in public, but he still confronts fierce resistance from inside the ANC.
His anti-corruption campaign has resulted in charges being filed against some well-known individuals.
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His management of the Covid health issue also received appreciation on a global scale.
But attempts to rebuild South Africa’s faltering economy were severely hampered by the pandemic.
Long-lasting power outages and persistent unemployment are major sources of resentment.
One of South Africa’s 11 official languages is Venda, which Ramaphosa is natively proficient in most of today.
Ramaphosa has been married three times and has four kids. His present spouse, physician Tshepo Motsepe, is related to African football executive Patrice Motsepe.
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