South African President Cyril Ramaphosa faced down calls to resign on Monday over a scandal in which thieves stole bundles of cash in foreign currency hidden in a sofa on his ranch.
In a televised address to the nation, Ramaphosa said he respected a constitutional court ruling that revived impeachment proceedings against him last week but pledged to defend himself.
“While there have been calls in some circles that I should resign, nothing in the Constitutional Court judgment compels me to resign my office,” Ramaphosa said.
Advertisement
The scandal, dubbed “Farmgate” by local media, has been a major embarrassment for Ramaphosa since it broke in 2022, as he came to power on a pledge to fight corruption and clean up the image of his party, the African National Congress.
Political analysts said they expected Ramaphosa would try to fight misconduct allegations against him but faced rising pressure before municipal elections in November, in which his party had already been expected to perform poorly.
Advertisement
“The timing couldn’t really be worse … from an ANC perspective,” said independent political analyst Daniel Silke.