South Africa’s Ramaphosa faces down calls to resign over cash-in-sofa scandal

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa faced down calls to resign on Monday over a scandal in which thieves stole bundles of cash in foreign currency hidden in a sofa on his ranch.

In a televised address to the nation, Ramaphosa said he respected a constitutional court ruling that revived impeachment proceedings against him ‌last week but pledged to defend himself.

“While there have been calls in some circles that I should resign, nothing in the Constitutional Court judgment compels me to resign my office,” Ramaphosa said.

The scandal, dubbed “Farmgate” by local media, has been a major embarrassment for Ramaphosa since it broke in 2022, as he came to power on a pledge to fight corruption and clean up the image of his party, the African National Congress.

Political analysts said they expected Ramaphosa would try to fight misconduct allegations against him ⁠but faced rising pressure before municipal elections in November, in which his party had already been expected to perform poorly.

“The timing couldn’t really be ‌worse … from an ANC perspective,” said independent political analyst Daniel Silke.