Cyril Ramaphosa slams apartheid era smear tactics

The race for the ANC presidency has taken an ugly turn after deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa's personal e-mail was hacked and its contents made public.

Ramaphosa, who is set to challenge former African Union chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma at the party's elective conference in December, said he became aware of the hacking, after he received questions from the Sunday Independent newspaper asking him about extramarital affairs he allegedly had with a bevy of young women.

In response to questions put to him by the Sunday Independent - which have been circulating on social media since Friday - Ramaphosa confirmed that he knew some of the women he was accused of sleeping with but said they were bursary recipients sponsored by him and his wife.

"It has come to my attention, through questions that were sent to me by the editor of a Sunday newspaper, that a number of e-mails from my private e-mail account have been illegally obtained and provided to at least one media outlet.

". it is clear that the intention of obtaining the e-mails and then providing them to the media was to discredit my person.

"I will not comment in public on private matters.

"I do feel compelled, however, to respond to deeply disturbing suggestions that I paid money to several young women with whom I was supposedly in relationships. There are 54 young students - both men and women - that my wife and I provide financial assistance to on a monthly basis and have done so for several years. It is unfortunate that evidence of these bank transfers have been used to make scandalous allegations against me and, worse, to make public the names of some of the people assisted.

"We find it disturbing that the privacy of these young women has been violated through the publication of their names and pictures on social media. It shows a callous disregard for the rights of the individual," he said in a statement.

Ramaphosa maintained that the latest developments were part of a smear campaign aimed at denying him the opportunity to become the party's president come December.

"This latest episode extends far beyond an attempt at political smear. It represents an escalation of a dirty war against those who are working to restore the values, principles and integrity of the African National Congress and society.

"Resembling in many ways the 'stratkom' techniques of the apartheid-era, we have seen in recent weeks a number of attempts at disinformation directed at me and people with whom I am associated. These activities need to be seen within a broader campaign that has targeted several political leaders, trade unionists, journalists and civil society activists.

"Nearly all the people that have been targeted in this way have taken a public stand against the capture of our state institutions by outside interests and the looting of public resources.

"It is evident that there is a well-resourced, coordinated covert operation under way to prevent those responsible for wrongdoing from being held to account and for the integrity of our law enforcement agencies and other state institutions to be restored. .

"We now need to confront the likelihood that state agencies and resources are being abused . We also need to confront the reality that those behind these agendas will go to any length to protect themselves and their interests. We need to ask who these people are. And on whose behalf they act."