ANC officials to investigate alleged plot to oust Ramaphosa

The ANC’s national officials have agreed to investigate an alleged plot emanating from internal factions to oust its president, Cyril Ramaphosa.

ANC insiders said that one of Ramaphosa’s loyal lieutenants, Mondli Gungubele, who was fingered as one of the main culprits, called for the investigation during a recent national working committee meeting.

Those closest to Gungubele, including Eastern Cape chairperson Oscar Mabuyane and national chair Gwede Mantashe, are said to be fighting his corner for his political survival.

Reports emerged last week that Gungubele, along with Joe Phaahla, another Ramaphosa loyalist, were plotting against the ANC president.

“Mondli raised this at the NWC and requested that the officials look at this because everywhere he goes, he is now being perceived as someone who plots against the president,” an insider said.

Insiders said there was also a call from some within the ANC for former president Thabo Mbeki to take over from Ramaphosa in the interim.

However, those close to Mbeki say that he would reject any call to return as interim ANC president.

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula is said to have told the special NEC on Monday that officials were looking into the claims, arguing that this was a ploy to divide the party.

“This is a coordinated effort, and when you listen to those who claim they were lobbied to remove the president, none of them can tell you who is doing the lobbying. Mbalula told the NEC the officials are handling it,” a National Executive Committee (NEC) member said.

Another NEC member said they believed that this was a coordinated effort to divide the NEC ahead of its 2027 elections.

“What they want to do is to isolate the president from his core people and create a new faction ahead of the conference, the same way it was done with [Jacob] Zuma.”

The ANC’s NEC is said to be have closed ranks on Monday behind Ramaphosa. This follows his charm offensive and for standing up to the US during the G20 leaders’ summit, which has thwarted calls for him to resign.

According to ANC insiders, the special NEC meeting, which convened to discuss the preparations of the national general council (NGC), showed support for Ramaphosa to continue his presidency until his term ends in 2027.

Ramaphosa had irked ANC leaders in the lead-up to the G20 summit when he praised the DA for running its municipalities more efficiently during a roll call with ANC councillors in September.

At the time, the Sunday Times reported Ramaphosa had put himself in the firing line, with some NEC members baying for his blood.

Ramaphosa had shocked his comrades when he conceded that the DA ran municipalities better, and encouraged the ANC councillors to learn from its biggest electoral opponent.

“There is nothing wrong with us saying we want to go and see what Cape Town is doing, we want to go and see what Stellenbosch is doing, how they craft everything. We need to be moving up the ladder or being good at what we do; we cannot forever stay at the bottom.

“It hurts me deeply when I continue to see that our municipalities tend to move even backwards, and you are the people who can improve that,” he told the more than 4,000 ANC councillors at the time.

This led to a flurry of calls by his detractors and those who had ushered him to the first seat in the ANC, debating whether he was in the departure lounge.

Some within the ANC were said to have already been plotting to have deputy president Paul Mashatile lead the ANC campaign for next year’s local government elections.

The Sunday Times understands that former radical economic transformation (RET) faction members, including a former speaker of parliament and a high-ranking ANC leader who contested Ramaphosa for the presidency in 2017, had been lobbying NEC members to have him resign.

However, insiders say this has been averted due to the president’s recent performance on the world stage.

Ramaphosa has been praised for how he handled the diplomatic tensions with US President Donald Trump, who snubbed the G20 leaders’ summit.

“He has proven himself the leader we need at the moment. No one could have handled Trump in the way that the president handled the situation, and he has proven to us that he is the right man for the job, for now,” a high-ranking NEC member said.

This comes after reports emerged last week that certain individuals in Ramaphosa’s circle were calling for him to resign. However, those with intimate knowledge of the NEC said they expect that the NGC — the ANC’s midterm policy review — would see delegates of the party rallying behind its president.

The NGC has in the past been used by those with ambitions to ascend to the presidency as a test of their popularity within party ranks. It was the first signal that the tide had turned against former president Thabo Mbeki when he fired his deputy Jacob Zuma.

This is not the time to discuss leadership when we are faced with an existential crisis. The focus of the ANC is rebuilding and renewal and making a point to come back stronger on all fronts.

—  ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula

The Sunday Times understands that certain NEC members had intended to use the platform to embarrass Ramaphosa following the ANC’s decision to enter into a coalition with the DA in government. Some within the ANC were hoping that the NGC can reverse the decision by its NEC, arguing that the ANC would continue to bleed votes should it choose to stay in bed with its biggest political and ideological opponent.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mbalula denied any talk of a leadership battle in the party. He said the ANC had closed ranks and called on its members to do the same. Mbalula accused forces from within and outside of attempts to destroy the ANC.

“This is not the time to discuss leadership when we are faced with an existential crisis. The focus of the ANC is rebuilding and renewal and making a point to come back stronger on all fronts,” he said.

Mbalula said Ramaphosa had been tested from time to time, adding that he was continuing to lead with a thick skin.

“You will see at the NGC, it will be successful. Any attempt for people to come there other than what we come there for, we will want to see that, because the agenda is very clear. We are going to be discussing issues robustly to strengthen the ANC.”

Mbalula warned that they will be watching for those who attempt to undermine the ANC and its president during the mid-term policy meeting next week.

Mabuyane said all leaders of the party must be focused on rebuilding.

“We must not be defocused by other issues that seek to create the perpetual consternation within our structures of the ANC, be it on leadership succession or other issues. The ANC is expecting us to work so hard to improve our electoral fortunes.

“Only unity will be able to help us achieve that, and we all understand that unity is the panacea that the ANC needs so desperately for it to be able to navigate this way forward. So we believe that we are on the right track, and I believe that the NGC will be a good political school,” Mabuyane said.

Phaahla, who has been identified by various media outlets as having been part of the plot to remove Ramaphosa, denied his involvement in a statement on Monday.

“I regard the claims that I am plotting to oust President Ramaphosa as utter rubbish and pure hogwash. In fact, I lack the adjectives to adequately describe their absurdity. These fabrications are the work of desperate individuals attempting to drive a wedge between myself as an NEC member and lifelong activist of the ANC for nearly five decades and my president.”

Phaahla said OR Tambo warned about the wedge drivers who sow suspicion, division and mistrust within the ANC, claiming that the people behind these allegations have a destructive agenda aimed at undermining the unity of the ANC, dividing the NEC and casting unwarranted doubt on his integrity.

Phaahla is among those who were dubbed ‘the doctors’ who worked behind the scenes to have Ramaphosa reelected in the ANC’s 2022 elections.