South Africa leader will not resign, says spokesman

South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa will not resign despite a scandal over money stolen from his farm, his spokesman says.

The row centres on claims he kept large sums of cash on his property and then covered up its theft.

A panel of legal experts concluded that he has a case to answer.

The top leadership bodies of the African National Congress (ANC) are due to meet to decide the party’s next steps.

But Ramaphosa’s spokesman suggested he would fight on, and rather than quit would seek a second term as leader of his ANC party.

“President Ramaphosa is not resigning based on a flawed report, neither is he stepping aside,” Vincent Magwenya said.

“It may be in the long-term interest and sustainability of our constitutional democracy, well beyond the Ramaphosa presidency, that such a clearly flawed report is challenged,” he said.—BBC