South African President Jacob Zuma has no plans to sack his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa, the president’s spokesperson said on Friday according to Reuters.
“It’s rumours and gossip and we don’t comment on them at all,” the news agency quotes Zuma’s spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga.
Ramapphosa was asked in parliament on Thursday whether he might be sacked, but he declined to speculate. He however said that if he got sacked, he would accept the president’s decision.
“If (Zuma‘s) decision is to remove me, I will accept that as a decision that will be taken by the president and I will continue serving the people of South Africa in one form, shape or another,” he said on Thursday.
Ramaphosa, a trade unionist-turned business tycoon, is seen as the most likely rival candidate to Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for the ANC top job.
Dlamini-Zuma is the president’s ex-wife and the former chairperson of the African Union Commission. She has the president’s backing for the bid.
South Africans will head to the ballot in 2019 to elect President Zuma’s replacement.
Ramaphosa in recent months has publicly criticized President Zuma for his governance, leading to speculation that he might be sacked.
South Africa’s largest trade union COSATU in August publicly backed Ramaphosa’s bid for the presidency.
