President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing a serious challenge in dealing with the Zuma faction within the ruling party.

Most of Ramaphosa's political lieutenants are marred by controversies that favour his detractors as we head toward the elections.

No one can argue that the inclusion of unethical leaders such as Bathabile Dlamini, Nomvula Mokonyane and Malusi Gigaba on the IEC national list of the party's parliamentary representatives is not political suicide.

However, viewing them in a dark light along factional lines and asserting that the inclusion of the likes of Gwede Mantashe, Thabang Makwetla and Vincent Smith on the list is not problematic, is biased.

The balance of forces is not favouring the incumbent president because his confidants are tarnished in a similar manner as former president Jacob Zuma's cabal that orchestrated or presided over state capture.

While Ramaphosa enjoys the prerogative powers to hire his own cabinet after the elections should his party win, which is highly likely, he doesn't have power to remove Zuma people as members of parliament because their presence is a view of branches.

Following the embarrassing revelations in the book Gangster State: Unravelling Ace Magashule's Web of Capture, which shed light on how ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule captured the Free State to benefit the Guptas, Zuma came out urging him to be strong.

Both Zuma and Magashule, who are morally and ethically compromised, have never forsaken one another.

While the ANC hasn't confirmed that the Magashule has tampered with the national list of its parliamentary representatives, what we know is that it reflects the Zuma faction.

It would be a fair comment to say without any doubt that Ramaphosa is not in full control of the fragmented ruling party.

Rofhiwa Phaswana, e-mail