President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office and the SANDF have dismissed threats led by a “discredited” senior naval officer who called for Ramaphosa to resign or face being removed from office.
This comes after a video of this officer went viral on social media on Tuesday.
The officer, who at this stage has been identified as expelled, Lieutenant-Commander Sylvester Madala Mangolele, said in the video that Ramaphosa must resign within 48 hours or risk being forced out of office.
Mangolele, who insists that he still works for the government, threatened to remove Ramaphosa by the end of 48 hours should he fail to report to the naval college in Gordon’s Bay to hand in his resignation.
“In 48 hours I do this to save you from the embarrassment of applying section 35 of the Constitution and the section… of the Criminal Procedure Act to arrest you as a declining critical capabilities of the state through immediate directed intervention as directed by an act of Parliament.
“I am asking you to redirect your all your resources and everything to the law that you have written and all people must follow. The law that you are failing to uphold. You are declining to defend. You are declining to respecting it.”
The officer indicates that he is an active SANDF member, adding that he is calling for the president to tender his resignation as his duty as the citizen of this country and in defence of its sovereignty.
However, according to the SANDF in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Siphiwe Dlamini, Mangolele was dismissed in 2018 following a legal battle that found against him.
“The SANDF distances itself from comments made by Sylvester Mangolele on social media. Sylvester Mangolele was dismissed from the defence force in 2018 and does not speak on behalf of the SANDF. The SANDF condemns Sylvester Mangolele’s utterances with the contempt it deserves. His comments are not reflective of nor represent the SANDF in any way, shape or form,” Dlamini said.
Previously, IOL reported that Mangolele was dismissed in 2018 following a high court ruling which upheld an eviction order to remove him from his home at the Simon’s Town naval base.
Mangolele is reported to have submitted an urgent application against the then Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and the City of Cape Town, while defending himself in front of Judge Mokgaetji Dolamo.
This came after he was reportedly evicted from No. 4 Cable Road, Simon’s Town, alleging that his belongings were thrown out in the street.
The Star