Concerns over Mabuza taking over from Ramaphosa is just ‘fearmongering’ – Malema

The concerns raised by some over Deputy President David Mabuza succeeding Cyril Ramaphosa as South Africa’s president is just nothing but fearmongering.

That’s according to Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema.

“Why are we being told here that DD [David Dabede Mabuza] can’t be the president of South Africa? That we must go to the elections because we must avoid DD.

“DD is our deputy president as we speak. Are we saying that the office of the deputy president is useless to a point that it can be occupied by this man that you’re scared of today? It is not true. You’re not scared of DD,” said Malema.

The EFF leader made the remarks on Monday during a media briefing in Johannesburg.

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Malema said those who were against Mabuza being SA’s first citizen did not like him because the “establishment has no total control over him”.

Phala Phala scandal

The likelihood of Mabuza stepping into the hot seat at the Union Buildings nearly became a reality last week, following reports that Ramaphosa was preparing to step down over the findings of a parliamentary independent panel into the theft of foreign currency at his Phala Phala game farm in 2020.

The Section 89 panel, headed by retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo, found that the president may have violated the country’s anti-corruption laws and the Constitution, which could lead to him possibly facing an impeachment inquiry in Parliament if a majority of MPs (two-thirds majority) vote for the process to go ahead on Tuesday.

RELATED: Phala Phala crisis: David ‘The Cat’ Mabuza likely to be our next president?

Ramaphosa has indicated that he will take the panel’s report on judicial review to the Constitutional Court as he fights to secure a second term as the ANC’s leader and country’s president.

Snap elections

Following the release of the Phala Phala panel report, the Democratic Alliance (DA) called for early elections after raising concerns over Ramaphosa’s departure from office with Mabuza being next in line to take over as president.

RELATED: Phala Phala: DA calls for the dissolution of government

The DA labelled Mabuza corrupt and said it did not want ANC presidential hopeful Dr Zweli Mkhize as South Africa’s next president due to the corruption allegations he is facing over the Digital Vibes scandal.

Mkhize is Ramaphosa’s main challenger for the ANC presidency at the party’s national conference starting on 16 December at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec.

Mabuza has not made the cut to be nominated by most ANC branches and structures for reelection as deputy president.

‘DD is not captured’

Malema claimed that the resistance by quarters of society to Mabuza’s presidency was because he was “not captured by the Oppenheimers and the Ruperts” – South Africa’s billionaire families.

He said the deputy president was being portrayed as a criminal in public, however, no court of law had found him guilty of any crime.

“I’ve said it here many times. We were told that DD is a murderer [and] corrupt. None of those allegations were ever proven by anyone; not even prima facie evidence produced against DD,” said Malema.

He added: “The fearmongering that we are having around DD it’s because the establishment has no total control over DD. That’s what we are suffering from.”

Malema also questioned why Ramaphosa chose Mabuza as his deputy despite the numerous allegations of wrongdoing that have dogged his political career over the years.

He said the former Mpumalanga premier and ANC provincial chair also appeared before the ANC’s integrity committee to clear his name before his swearing-in as an MP in 2019.

“Only a man of integrity and ethical leadership will do that… the fact that DD is the deputy president of this country, it means he meets all of the requirements to be the president. And nothing will stop him except the ANC itself; not this fearmongering,” said Malema.

It emerged in 2020 that Mabuza was not cleared of allegations of wrongdoing from his time as the premier of Mpumalanga, according to a report by the integrity committee.

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