• According to his spokesman, Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, would not step down in the wake of the money-theft incident involving his farm.
• He has a case to answer, a panel of legal professionals ruled.
• But Mr. Ramaphosa’s spokesman suggested that he would continue to battle and would seek re-election as the head of his African National Congress party rather than stepping down.

According to his spokesman, Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, would not step down in the wake of the money-theft incident involving his farm.

The argument centers on allegations that he concealed the theft of substantial sums of cash by keeping them on his premises. He has a case to answer, a panel of legal professionals ruled.

But Mr. Ramaphosa’s spokesman suggested that he would continue to battle and would seek re-election as the head of his African National Congress party rather than stepping down.

“President Ramaphosa is not resigning based on a flawed report, neither is he stepping aside,” Vincent Magwenya said.

“It may be in the long-term interest and sustainability of our constitutional democracy, well beyond the Ramaphosa presidency, that such a clearly flawed report is challenged,” he added.

When Arthur Fraser, a former South African spy chief, reported the president to the police in June, he accused him of covering up a theft of $4 million (£3.25 million) in cash from his Phala Phala game farm in 2020.

An overview of the “Farmgate” affair in South Africa Mr. Ramaphosa acknowledged that money had been taken, but stated that the amount was $580,000 rather than $4m.

The panel, led by a former chief justice, stated that it had “substantial doubt” regarding the president’s claim that the $580,000 came from the sale of buffalo.

The findings of the panel have been delivered to parliament, which will review them and decide whether or not to begin the process of impeaching the president.

Additionally, Mr. Ramaphosa is being pressured to step down by members of his own government ANC as well as the opposition.

He missed an earlier meeting and is now scheduled to meet with the ANC’s top leadership groups on Sunday and Monday.

Since Mr. Ramaphosa took office on a platform promising to root out the corruption that had plagued the nation under his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, the controversy is particularly harmful to him.

The ANC is still sharply split between those who favor Mr. Zuma and those who support Mr. Ramaphosa.

His former health minister Zweli Mkhize, who has also been charged with corruption, will run against Mr. Ramaphosa for the ANC presidency. He disputes the charges.

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