Ramaphosa backs Morero apology after mayor’s heated Tshepisong outburst

President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended the African National Congress’s response after Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero apologised for a heated confrontation with a resident at a community electricity meeting in Tshepisong.

What happened in Tshepisong

The exchange occurred during a City Power electricity imbizo in Tshepisong last week, where residents were discussing ongoing electricity problems. A video of the encounter circulated on social media after a resident called the mayor a criminal and Morero responded angrily.

The mayor’s words, as captured in the footage, included:

“Don’t call me a criminal, I am not a criminal. Don’t ever do that again. Don’t ever do that. You are old. You are talking sh**t!”

Ramaphosa: apology accepted

Speaking on the sidelines of an ANC campaign in Orange Farm, Gauteng, on Sunday, Ramaphosa called the mayor’s remarks “completely unacceptable” but said the party had accepted Morero’s public apology. He said:

“Our mayor did make an utterance which we find completely unacceptable, but he has apologised. He has gone public and apologised, and we as the ANC have taken him up on that, and I do hope that our people also will be able to accept the apology that he has given.”

Campaign context and party response

Ramaphosa rejected suggestions the ANC’s campaign in the area was an attempt at damage control, saying:

“It has not been damage control. Our people here did not even raise the issue. Not a single one raised the issue.”

He said residents instead focused on their expectations of ANC councillors and the mayor, remarking:

“They have only spoken in a way where they say: We want councillors to work well for us. They want their mayor to execute the manifesto of the ANC. That is about the sum total of what they said regarding that incident.”

Moving forward

Ramaphosa acknowledged that campaigns can include mistakes and missteps and said the important measure is whether politicians are willing to acknowledge errors and apologise. He said:

“So we move ahead, and in any campaign there will always be mishaps. There will be missteps, and we are people, and we will always make mistakes.”

He added that Morero’s comments should not be viewed as representative of the ANC, saying:

“This does not represent who we are, because what he said does not represent in any way what the ANC is and what the ANC stands for.”