The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
– ‘Powerful insider’ –
Shortly before the massacre — the worst police killing since the end of apartheid — Ramaphosa had called for a crackdown on the strikers, whom he accused of “dastardly criminal” behaviour.
Ramaphosa has four children with his second wife Tshepo Motsepe, a doctor.
Earlier this year he was accused of having affairs with several young women, which he denied.
Ramaphosa did admit to an extramarital affair but told local media that he had since disclosed the relationship to his wife.
Some saw the sudden revelations as a smear campaign by associates of President Zuma determined to ensure that Dlamini-Zuma takes the ANC top job.
The impact of the scandal was short-lived, and Ramaphosa has based his campaign on his pledge to rebuild the country’s economy, boost growth and create much-needed jobs.
“Our ability to overcome these challenges has been undermined over the last decade by a failure of leadership and misguided priorities,” he said in a rally speech.
“For the first time since the advent of democracy, there is a real chance that the transformation of our country may suffer significant reverses.”
If he wins the leadership of the ANC and then becomes president, his opportunity to try to transform the country will finally have arrived.
“Ramaphosa has no association with any of the corruption scandals that have plagued South Africa,” wrote his biographer Ray Hartley in “The Man Who Would Be King”.
“But the years he spent at Zuma’s side, playing the ‘inside game’ suggest he is more comfortable as a powerful insider than as a radical reformer.”
