South African President Faces Criminal Charges — But Will He 'Step Aside'?

South Africa's ruling party the ANC passed a resolution at its 2107 conference instructing party members to 'step aside' from official government positions if they are charged with corruption or other serious offences. Now that may force President Cyril Ramaphosa to take indefinite leave from leading the country.

South Africa's president may be forced to step down after he was accused of serious crimes by a former security and prisons chief

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) announced on Monday that President Cyril Ramaphosa would appear voluntarily before the party's Integrity Commission, and that the party's National Working Committee would consider the matter once national officials report back before its next meeting.

That was after Arthur Fraser, the former director-general of the State Security Agency (SSA) and commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), laid formal charges of kidnapping and bribery against the president.

The allegations stem from a break-in incident at Ramaphosa's Phala Phala farm in Limpopo province in February 2020 that was allegedly covered up.

In his witness statement, Fraser said the burglars were after some $4 million (61 million South African rand) in foreign currency denominations kept in the home. The former security chief alleges they were detained at the property, questioned and then bribed to keep quiet about the incident before being set free.

Fraser said he had provided photographs, video footage and bank account details to the police as evidence.

Party rules mean Ramaphosa could be forced to take indefinite leave from the leadership of the ANC and the country if the police probe leads to criminal charges.

The ANC passed a resolution at its last five-yearly conference in 2017 instructing party members to "step aside" from official government positions if they are charged with corruption or other serious offences.

That was finally codified as new guidelines from the party's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) in February 2021.

Factional Battles

In practice the "step-aside rule" was first enforced against former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, an ally of former president Jacob Zuma and opponent of Ramaphosa's in early 2021. But in June that year, health minister Zweli Mkhize was also put on "special leave" after he was accused of graft over COVID-19 contracts.

Media outlets have tried to paint Fraser as another ally of Zuma, pointing out that as DCS commissioner he granted the jailed former president — then aged 79 — a medical parole in August 2021 to receive treatment for a serious medical condition and serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest. That parole was later revoked.

Ramaphosa came to power a year before he was set to take over as president in the 2019 elections, after Zuma resigned in early 2018 in response to a no-confidence vote by the ANC NEC following accusations of corruption against him in the media.

Zuma was jailed in July 2021 after he was found in contempt of court for refusing a call to testify for a third time at Supreme Court deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo's commission into corruption and "state capture". Zuma walked out of the commission after Zondo ruled in his own favour to reject a request by Zuma's legal team to recuse himself due to alleged personal bias against the former president.

The unprecedented judgement by the Supreme Court itself left Zuma with no higher court to which he could appeal his sentence.

Brothers Rajesh and Atul Gupta, two Indian-born businessmen accused of bribing government ministers during Zuma's presidency, were arrested in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday pending the outcome of an extradition request from South Africa.