President Cyril Ramaphosa's darkest hour has arrived, with his fate now in the hands of a faction of the ANC that spent the past five years trying to get rid of him.
Leading the charge has been Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who insists that her presidential campaign is still on track despite failing to reach the threshold required for this.
"I think the president should step aside. If you go and read the ANC step-aside rule, I think he should step aside," said Dlamini-Zuma on Enca.
The ANC was expected to hold an urgent National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Thursday following the release of the report of the panel chaired by retired Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo on the Phala Phala matter.
However, the meeting of the party's highest decision-making body, which could seal Ramaphosa's fate, was pushed back to Friday.
Ramaphosa's enemies -- including NEC members Tony Yengeni and Lindiwe Sisulu -- are expected to turn the heat on him to step down or be forced to resign.
They are also pushing for the meeting to be held in person and not virtually.
"He must go now. We can't afford to have him as our president, because he is compromised," Yengeni told Scrolla.Africa in a brief interview.
The calls for Ramaphosa to resign were triggered by the report, which found that the president may have violated the law.
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This all stems from the $600,000 robbery cover up at his Phala Phala Farm in February 2020.
The money was allegedly hidden in a sofa and not declared to the South African Reserve Bank.
Since losing control of the ANC in the 2017 elective conference at Nasrec, the faction led by former president Jacob Zuma has been plotting to topple Ramaphosa at every turn.
More than half the members of the current NEC have been thought to be implicated in various allegations of misconduct, including fraud and corruption.
Many have called for the shelving of the entire Zondo Commission report, while Ramaphosa has made it the cornerstone of his rule.
The prosecution of senior ANC members in the coming months may flow from this report.
The nation will know in the coming days whether Ramaphosa will resign or fight on.
The president was due to address the nation on Thursday night but it was later cancelled.
Ramaphosa's spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said that Ramaphosa was considering what was in the best interest of the country.
"He is consulting many people about his next move. There are many options on the table." Magwenya told the media.
