Tendai Ziso

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is alleged to be using state apparatuses and law enforcement agents against his political foes in the ANC in a bid to secure his power in the wake of the rising factional wars against him.

Sources in S.A’s ruling party said Ramaphosa
is using organs like the Zondo Commission, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks to exhume old criminal allegations and launch investigations against his known enermies.

The alleged plot is likely going to target about 11 senior officials in ANC.

Among the targets are the ANC Deputy President David Mabuza, ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu. The above are targeted on reports that they are loyal to former president Jacob Zuma and that they harbour ambitions to challenge Ramaphosa for his position.

The party’s National Executive Member Tony Yengeni is also on Ramaphosa’s hit list as he recently made a public call for the country’s leader to resign after the latter released a letter accusing the ruling party of being corrupt.

Other alleged targets include deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte, Chairperson and Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe, former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo and former ministers Mosebenzi Zwane, Bongani Bongo, Nomvula Mokonyane, Bathabile Dlamini and Faith Mutambi.

Sources said Mabuza would be linked to political killings in Mpumalanda, Magashule with corruption in the Free State, Duarte with tax related crimes, Mokonyane with the Bosasa and Water Affairs corruption, and the rest with various allegations of corruption and alleged state capture.

Mahumapelo would be charged with fraud, Dlamini with alleged corruption related to the multibillion South African Security Agency (Sassa) contract during her tenure as social development minister.

Ramaphosa is expected to start going after his opponents in the next coming months. The Zondo commission is already haunting former president Jacob Zuma on allegations of state capture.

The commission is reportedly targeting Zuma and his entire family to neutralise him against inspiring descending voices against Ramaphosa.

Reports from the South African media are saying the Zondo Commission is set to investigate accounts belonging to Zuma’s children to find out if they were used in corrupt activities.

But Zuma has vowed to use all his power to protect his family against what he termed “faceless cowards doing their masters bidding”, and appealed to the commission to leave his family alone, saying his children should not suffer for his crimes.

Meanwhile, another factional storm erupted in S. A’s rulling party as witnessed by the recent public spat between the Transport Minister and ANC national executive committee (NEC) senior figure Fikile Mbalula and the Mukondo We Sizwe Millitary Veterans Association MKMVA’s Carl Niehaus and Kebby Maphatsoe over the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).

The latter publicly accused the former of having overseen the country’s railway transport system while it has come to almost a complete halt.

MKMVA on Sunday called for Mbalula’s arrest over Prasa’s state of dysfunction.

But Mbalula hit back by calling Kebby and Niehaus “thugs” masquarading as MK to attack him.

The public fight is just a show of how the party is disintegrating due to factionalism, and Ramaphosa is going to face a hard time to quench it as many accuse him of being a puppet of white monopolists who brought his way to power.