South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will testify as a witness for four days next month before a long-running corruption investigation, the presidency announced on Wednesday.
Ramaphosa will testify before the inquiry, which will be led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and will look into allegations that former President Jacob Zuma allowed three businessmen close to him to loot state assets and sway government appointments while he was in office.
Zuma was deposed by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in February 2018, and his replacement, Cyril Ramaphosa, has been working hard to restore investor trust that had been harmed by systemic corruption involving senior politicians.
“The presidency wishes to confirm that president Cyril Ramaphosa will appear … on April 22, 23, 28 and 29,” a statement from his office said.
Ramaphosa is scheduled to testify as the country’s president and former deputy president, as well as the ANC’s president and former deputy president. Under Zuma’s leadership, Ramaphosa acted as deputy in both instances.
Ramaphosa has consistently emphasized the importance of upholding the constitution and the rule of law.
As reported by Reuters, Zuma, who denies any wrongdoing, struggled to get Zondo to recuse himself from the corruption investigation and refused to acknowledge its jurisdiction, claiming that Zondo is biased against him.
Zuma may be arrested if he does not comply with a court order to appear at the same investigation.
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