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No, South African economist Moeletsi Mbeki didn’t call Cyril Ramaphosa the ‘most corrupt president in the ANC’

“There’s a possibility that Cyril Ramaphosa is the most corrupt president in the ANC,” a graphic circulating on Facebook in South Africa in December 2020 quotes political economist Moeletsi Mbeki as saying.

Cyril Ramaphosa is the president of both the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and the country. 

The quote has also appeared in Facebook status updates, tweets and a handful of blog posts.

Moeletsi Mbeki, brother of former South African president Thabo Mbeki, is often vocal about the challenges facing the country. But did he really say this? We checked. 



No evidence to support claim 


None of the platforms posting the quote give a source or any details on when or where Mbeki supposedly said Ramaphosa is the most corrupt president in the ANC. 

A Google search for the quote returned one result from a known fake news blog, Opera News, which repeats the claim.  

But again, the Opera News article offers no details on when or where it was said. 

Mbeki is a respected figure in South Africa, whose views are covered widely in the media. If he had made such a comment, it is safe to assume it would have been reported by credible news organisations. This is not the case. 

Without any evidence to support the claim that Mbeki called Ramaphosa the most corrupt president in the ANC, we rate it as false. – Africa Check




 

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