Johannesburg - An African National Congress member of the Sefako Makgatho branch in Johannesburg and a PhD student is seeking legal advice after she was portrayed as one of the women with whom Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa allegedly had an affair.
The ANC Sefako Makgatho branch learnt with great concern and disappointment of the "pictures circulating on social media parading pictures of women" with Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, the branch leadership said in a statement on Sunday.
In one photograph, one of the ladies portrayed as one of Ramaphosa's alleged partners "is our branch member cde Nonhlanhla Radebe, who approached the branch to seek advice on how to deal with this this malicious and highly damaging allegation against her and the deputy president".
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"Cde Nonhlanhla Radebe wishes to state that she has never had any relationship with the deputy president and has never even met him in her life. She sees these kind of publications as a desperate campaign against the deputy president's popularity in taking over after President [Jacob] Zuma as the president of the ANC," the statement said.
Radebe was consulting her legal advisers about possible legal action she could take against those behind publicising her picture, which was taken from her Facebook profile "to all over the social media".
She had received funding to study for her MSc water engineering degree through the support of the branch. "She has never received any funding from cde Cyril Ramaposa or his organisation, nor has she ever met him.
"She is based in Germany at the Technische Universität Berlin and is currently in the country to conduct her research for her PhD thesis which she is doing in collaboration with the City of Tshwane on optimising anaerobic digesters." She currently had a scholarship from the Catholic Church for her PhD.
"[The] Sefako Makgatho branch maintains its standing to restore the core values of the ANC and reposition the ANC as a leader of society with high moral standing. Although the branch is concerned about allegations against the deputy president, the branch will not be deterred by such malicious intents to dent the image, not just that of the DP and cde Nonhlanhla, but of the ANC, as the same journalist has been consistent in reporting negatively against President Zuma until he admitted of being part of the campaign to dent President Zuma’s image.
"So we are not surprised that he continues with his compromised principles of allowing himself to be used in political campaigns which journalists should at all costs avoid and report balanced stories," the statement said.
The branch welcomed Ramaphosa's statement clarifying his position regarding the allegations against him. The branch maintained its view that Ramaphosa should taker over as ANC president at the party's December elective conference, working with the collective including ANC provincial chairman Paul Mashatile to restore the core values of the ANC and reclaim its moral values in society.