EDITORIAL: Ramaphosa through Zuma’s looking glass
In a year’s time, when the country looks back on the dying days of this presidency, we’ll wonder how it was that we became so desensitised that we accepted such routine violations of Zuma’s oath without blinking
As panicked rumours swirled this week that Cyril Ramaphosa was to be axed as deputy president, it seemed a moment that exemplified how SA has moved through Lewis Carroll’s looking glass into a curious world of unfathomable silliness. SA’s increasingly flaccid leader, Jacob Zuma, has wanted to get rid of his increasingly outspoken deputy for months. Now, ANC insiders are speaking darkly of another "intelligence report" that details how Ramaphosa is — wait for it — "a spy for Western capitalist interests". Treason charges might follow, they warn sternly. It goes without saying that it would be a disastrous gamble for Zuma to fire Ramaphosa based on a report written by people who evidently don’t have the mental skills to wield cutlery without doing themselves serious harm. But to fire Ramaphosa now would be to risk providing the billionaire founder of Shanduka with exactly the sort of trajectory that catapulted Zuma himself into the Union Buildings. SA loves a victim, so to be fired by...
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