President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended South Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Andrew Chauke, pending an inquiry into his fitness to hold office. The decision follows multiple allegations that Chauke used his position within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to delay prosecutions in key state capture cases.
Speaking to VOC News, political analyst Professor Theo Venter said the suspension of Chauke—alongside the recent dismissal of Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane—signals Ramaphosa’s strategic preparation for the upcoming ANC National General Council.
“I think the President has moved into that period where he must watch who is coming in, who is going out, who has ambition, which provinces will have more delegates than the other, and an internal ANC elective atmosphere is presently going on, and I think that determines what he is doing,” said the political analyst.
Venter also believes the President’s moves are calculated to secure the completion of his second term—something neither Thabo Mbeki nor Jacob Zuma managed to do.
“The President has said that he would like to serve his full second term; that means he wants to stay on as state president until 2029. Now, to do that, whoever becomes the president of the ANC within the next two years must have such a relationship to allow him to finish his last 18 months of his term. Both Mbeki and Zuma couldn’t and were forced out, and he would like to break that tradition in the ANC,” added Venter.
Listen to the full interview here:
