Ramaphosa not hospitalised, ‘the President is fine’ – Vincent Magwenya

Reports surfaced on social media that Ramaphosa had taken ill and has been admitted to the Military Hospital in Pretoria.

The Presidency has confirmed that President Cyril Ramaphosa is well.

This comes after reports surfaced on social media that Ramaphosa had taken ill and was admitted to the Military Hospital in Pretoria.

Ramaphosa on Sunday was not available for some of the activities at the ongoing African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Mbombela due to an unspecified emergency.

Watch President Cyril Ramaphosa not available for some of the activities at the ongoing NEC meeting in Mbombela

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Deputy President Paul Mashatile stood in for Ramaphosa.

The ANC’s NEC held its first ordinary meeting for the year ahead of its 112th birthday on Monday.

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Ramaphosa fine

Speaking to The Citizen, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said there’s no truth to the rumours to the president’s ill health.

“A malicious rumour has been doing the rounds about the President’s health and that he has been hospitalised.

“I spoke to him this morning, the President is fine, he was never hospitalised, and there was no emergency. He attended a meeting and decided to spend the rest of the day at home ahead of a busy week,” Magwenya said.

ANC still standing

Meanwhile, Mashatile said the outcomes of the NEC will be conveyed by secretary general Fikile Mbalula.

Members of the media were enquiring if the ANC NEC had possibly taken a decision against former President Jacob Zuma for his support of the Umkhonto weSizwe party (MK).

“In terms of my own speech, I have said our house is still standing for 112 years because it is built on a strong foundation. I said like any family, you have family members who behave in a particular way, others will want to break window and others kick the doors.

“But there are those of us who are rebuilding, renewing and this house will never fall and I meant the ANC,” Mashatile said.

Jacob Zuma

On Saturday, Mbalula said the governing party has no personal agenda against former President Jacob Zuma and is not threatened by his endorsement of the newly formed MK party.

Last month, Zuma announced that he would support the MK party ahead of the 2024 general elections because the ANC has strayed from its core values.

Zuma has been on a campaign trail for the newly formed MK party, which has been seen by many as a breakaway faction of the ANC.

Analysts have labelled Zuma’s move a blow for the ANC, and its Veterans League said it amounted to “treason and treachery”. It called for “strong action” to be taken against the former president.

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