‘We have a crook running the country’: Zuma takes brutal swipe at Ramaphosa

MK Party leader Jacob Zuma has launched a scathing attack on President Cyril Ramaphosa

MK Party leader Jacob Zuma has launched a scathing attack on President Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing him of hiding money while South Africans struggle.

Former president Zuma made the remarks during a visit to a church in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape on Sunday. He also criticised the way the country is governed, and said the MK Party would bring change if it comes to power.

Zuma was in the Eastern Cape to drum up support for the MK Party ahead of the local government elections scheduled for November.

“This thing of having one person governing the country will end. You don’t even know if this person is smart or if they’re a crook. We currently have a crook running the country; I forget his name," Zuma said.

Without naming Ramaphosa, he accused the president of hiding money under his bed, and said the president does not care about South Africans who are struggling.

"When he gets money, he hides it under the bed. We’re suffering, we have orphans, and this crook does not care. Who can say what this criminal has done for us? There isn’t a single thing.”

Zuma also said that when the MK Party comes to power, it will change the way the country is governed.

He said no child should be left behind when it comes to education and that the party would ensure all children attend school.

“Once the MK Party is in power, no orphan will be left behind when it comes to going to school. It will be our duty to make sure all children go to school by force.”

Zuma’s comments come as Ramaphosa continues to deal with the fallout from the Phala Phala scandal.

The Phala Phala scandal (or "Farmgate", as it is also known) centres on the February 2020 burglary of Ramaphosa’s private game farm in Limpopo. Burglars stole about $580,000 (R9,3 million) in hidden cash.

The controversy erupted in June 2022 when former spy chief Arthur Fraser filed criminal charges, alleging Ramaphosa had hidden the crime and then used state protection resources for an unofficial cross-border manhunt, and breached foreign currency and tax laws.

The Constitutional Court last week dismissed an attempt by political parties and Parliament’s Impeachment Committee to appeal an order stopping the committee from proceeding with its work.