EXTRACT
Ramaphosa was in the middle of two crucial matters that were highlights of the state capture project. These were the attempted heists of the National Treasury, first through the firing of Nhlanhla Nene in December 2015, and then via the axing of Pravin Gordhan and Mcebisi Jonas in March 2017.
Ramaphosa protested at both - in the case of the latter he objected to Zuma's reshuffle publicly.
"I am especially unhappy about the firing of Gordhan and his deputy, to which the financial markets will react negatively. I think it is totally unacceptable that he [Zuma] fired someone like Gordhan, who has served the country excellently, for his own gain and survival," Ramaphosa said at the time.
He told the media he had expressed his dissatisfaction to Zuma and "told him I was going to express my unhappiness to the public at large".