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Cyril Ramaphosa makes political news again
March 7, 2008 | | Leave a Comment
By Penny (4)
Eighteen years ago after an aging Nelson Mandela was released from Robbin Island, the young man who introduced his first political speech to the world was Cyril Ramaphosa.
For a man who had Mandela’s confidence this event marked what should have been a promising and long term political career in the new South Africa. Instead Ramaphosa, who played a crucial role in negotiating the country’s first democratic elections in April 1994, found himself sidelined by the African National Congress (ANC).
He has since gone on to transform himself from a union and political activist to one of South Africa’s “black elite”, becoming a multi-millionaire through his involvement with black empowerment consortiums. His interests include three of South Africa’s most influential newspapers — The Sunday Times, Business Day and The Sowetan. It’s a long way from his humble beginnings in the sprawling black township of Soweto.
In February this year, Cyril Ramaphosa found himself back in the world news. Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan had appointed him as chief negotiator to broker a peace deal between Kenya’s feuding sides. Kenya’s disputed elections have sparked a crisis resulting in the deaths of more than 1,000 people and the displacement of 300,000 across the country.
However, President Mwai Kibaki’s government rejected Ramaphosa accusing him of favouring the opposition because of financial links through business with opposition leader Raila Odinga. Ramaphosa denied this.
Ramaphosa is expected to be back in the news again in the run up to the 2009 race to elect a South African President. There have been rumors dating back to 2006 that he would be a contender to replace Thabo Mbeki who must step down after two spells as President. Many believe that Ramaphosa would be better suited to the presidency rather than current candidate ANC President Jacob Zuma, who is tainted with allegations of rape and corruption.
While it’s almost a foregone certainty that Zuma will win, many South Africans at home and abroad will be left wondering what life could have been like under Cyril Ramaphosa, the man Nelson Mandela wanted to succeed him as head of state.
