Leading several ANC supporters in their on march on Luthuli House in Johannesburg, Gauteng, on Friday, former ANC NEC member Carl Niehaus called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to step down amid the Phala Phala controversy.
Niehaus and former North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo, alongside the RET’s Nkosentsha Shezi, teeming crowds marched towards the ANC’s headquarters.
The protest came under way with the #CyrilMustGo #CyrilMustResign trending on social media and president came under nationwide scrutiny after former spy boss Arthur Fraser leaked information about a robbery that had taken place at Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in Limpopo.
Yesterday, the EFF said it would lead a campaign to oust Ramaphosa from his position as head of the ANC and South Africa.
But Ramaphosa remained resolute that he would not let the Phala Phala saga push him off course as the party continued with its elective conferences around the country.
While speaking during an SACP event at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre in Ekurhuleni, the President acknowledged that there were calls for him to step down.
“I have heard those voices, and there are processes that need to be followed. I am following those processes, and let us all give those processes an opportunity and a chance,” he said.
He said he would meet with the ANC’s Integrity Commission in the days to come, a gesture which the commander in chief said was on his “own volition”.
The president said he would not allow any distractions to deter him from the real task of rebuilding the economy.