More than a decade after President Jacob Zuma stood trial for the rape of now-deceased Fezekile "Khwezi" Kuzwayo, his number two man, Cyril Ramaphosa, has said he believes her allegations were true. He made this stunning revelation in an interview with Talk Radio 702's Karima Brown on Thursday night.
"I know how difficult it is for a woman to garner the courage to say, 'yes, I was raped'... It must be the most difficult decision a woman has to make... so yes, I would believe her."
Ramaphosa, who is the frontrunner in the race to be the next president of the ANC, said that while he took into account the outcome of the trial, he was in support of Khwezi.
Social media was set ablaze as the news broke. Many felt that the support for Khwezi was too little too late.
Others applauded the presidential hopeful for taking a stand.
Some questioned the motive behind 702's Khwezi question.
Ramaphosa was speaking at a townhall gathering hosted by Talk Radio 702 on Thursday evening. He also spoke about issues of corruption, economic development, factionalism and vote-buying.