'I am fit as a fiddle': South African President Ramaphosa after rumours of ill health

Johannesburg, Jan 9 (PTI): South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has refuted reports circulating on social media that he had been hospitalised, saying he was "fit as a fiddle.

Johannesburg, Jan 9 (PTI): South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has refuted reports circulating on social media that he had been hospitalised, saying he was "fit as a fiddle".

Ramaphosa said reports that he was in the ICU were "exaggerated" and that he was working from home on Sunday on the advice of officials who had asked him to be "well preserved" for a busy week.

Ramaphosa made the comments at a wreath-laying ceremony in Limpopo province to honour African National Congress (ANC) members who had laid down their lives in the anti-apartheid movement on Monday.

The event was the first in a series on the 112th birthday of the ANC as the organisation prepares for a huge public celebration at a stadium on Saturday.

The president’s clarification came after social media reports on Sunday claimed that he had been admitted to the ICU of 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria.

A fake account of a leader of the opposition party Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema, on X claimed that Ramaphosa had collapsed earlier on Sunday before being admitted to the hospital.

Speaking at the event in Limpopo, Ramaphosa said he was in good health. “The news of my illness and the news that I was in ICU are extremely exaggerated. I am fit as a fiddle and will continue the struggle of ensuring that indeed that our people get a prosperous life.

“I had meetings and then I continued working at home (on Sunday) on the instructions of the officials who said: ‘We want you to be well preserved because the next six days are going to be vigorous for you as president’,” Ramaphosa said.

“I had no illness whatsoever. I didn’t collapse at all. You can see for yourself. This is not a fake Ramaphosa, not a double,” he said.

Ramaphosa reaffirmed that the ANC was facing several challenges as the country heads for elections this year.

Some analysts have predicted that the ANC could lose its majority for the first time since the first democratic elections in 1994 that brought ANC leader Nelson Mandela to power after decades of minority white apartheid rule.

Ramaphosa has insisted that the ANC would overcome all issues and emerge stronger. PTI FH SKY SKY

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)