Cape Town - The ANC has dismissed claims by Cope leader Mosiuoa Lekota that President Cyril Ramaphosa was a sell-out.
Lekota had made the claims in Parliament on Wednesday, during the debate on the State of the Nation Address.
However, on Thursday, the ANC said the allegations were baseless and Lekota was a desperate man who had run out of ideas.
“The ANC is alarmed at the baseless allegations Terror Lekota levelled against President Cyril Ramaphosa. We reject these insinuations with the contempt they deserve. The ANC has full confidence in Ramaphosa, and we do not take kindly to desperate attempts to call to question his integrity. Allegations of this nature are often made when the accuser fears exposure for his own misdeeds or runs out of political ideas,” said the ANC in a statement.
The ANC said Ramaphosa has risen through the ranks of the party over the years and was eventually elected to lead the party at Nasrec in December 2017.
It said Ramaphosa’s leadership qualities were without question and said Lekota was desperate.
The EFF and DA had given Lekota a standing ovation in the Chamber when he made the claims.
But the ANC has come out in defence of Ramaphosa.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi had also asked Lekota to produce evidence to back up his claims.
He said Lekota cannot go around making allegations when he had denied that Ramaphosa had sold out way back in 1982.