Ramaphosa: 'There's no plot to oust Mashatile'

President Cyril Ramaphosa has rejected claims by Paul Mashatile that there's a plot to oust him from office. Mashatile said he was aware of a plot to remove him from the deputy presidency by next month. The president said he had no plan to remove his deputy.

President Cyril Ramaphosa confronted his deputy Paul Mashatile on Sunday over the latter’s claims that there was a plot to oust him from office. 

Three months after assuming the deputy presidency, Mashatile has claimed that unnamed people were working to remove him by next month. 

But the president, who has the power to appoint and fire his deputy, has squarely rejected Mashatile’s assertion, saying there was “no truth or substance” to Mashatile’s claims. 

“I immediately said to him, I appointed you, and I am the only person that can disappoint you. There’s just no thought, no plan, no inkling whatsoever that something like that is in the works,” the president said. 

Ramaphosa was engaging with the media on the sidelines of the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) meeting on Sunday. 

READ | Mashatile now faces two different Public Protector complaints about his allegedly bankrolled lifestyle

City Press reported on Sunday that Mashatile said that those conspiring against him had set a deadline of August to remove him. 

“I became aware that there were people trying to stop me being appointed at the Union Buildings. In fact, they began plotting last year at the political level. They didn’t want me to become deputy president of the ANC, but the conference elected me,” Mashatile was quoted as saying. 

The president said there was no truth to his deputy’s views. 

He said:

Mashatile did not reveal who he believed was behind the plot to oust him. 

This week, Ramaphosa’s key ally and advisor, Bejani Chauke, distanced himself from messages purported to show him plotting against Mashatile. 

“It has come to my attention that there is a manipulated fake WhatsApp chat regarding the plot to disrupt the stability of operations of the Office of the Deputy President via the media,” said Chauke.

Ramaphosa also cautioned against manipulated messages. 

Controversy has courted Mashatile since he assumed the deputy presidency. 

READ MORE | Mashatile now faces two different Public Protector complaints about his allegedly bankrolled lifestyle

News24 revealed Mashatile led a life of luxury and seeming excess, using multimillion-rand homes owned by tenderpreneurs and beneficiaries of government contracts on Cape Town's exclusive Atlantic Seaboard to entertain a string of lovers and friends.

He was further thrust into the spotlight after members of the security detail were caught assaulting motorists last Sunday. 

Mashatile defended his association with Edwin Sodi, involved in allegations of corruption, and Ndavhe Mareda, a supplier of coal to Eskom, saying he had known the pair for years.

“The narrative is that I should be ashamed of myself for associating with people like Edwin and Ndavhe because state capture will return through me,” the deputy president told City Press. 

Ramaphosa said he was not aware of any allegations of criminality involving the deputy president. 

“I would have to have my own head examined to have a deputy president appointed and thereafter removed,” the president said. 

Ramaphosa further downplayed reports that ANC national chairperson and Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe had raised his ire after he refused to attend the launch of a European-funded green energy initiative last month. 

Sunday Times reported that ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the president must act against Mantashe, who confirmed he did not sign the agreement because he did not want to sign an inter-government agreement he had not seen.