South African military rejects former officer’s threat to remove president

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has distanced itself from threats by a former commander, who called for the removal of President Cyril Ramaphosa from office.

This comes after a video of the former officer identified as Sylvester Mangolele went viral on social media on Tuesday.

In the video, the former officer can be heard calling for Mr Ramaphosa to step down within 48 hours or risk being forced out of office, citing violations of the constitution as a major reason.

But in a statement on Tuesday, the army distanced itself from Mr Mangolele’s comments, saying that he does not speak on behalf of SANDF.

“The SANDF condemns Sylvester Mangolele’s utterances with (the) contempt it deserves,” said SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini.

Mr Mangolele was dismissed from the defence force in 2018, the army said, without clarifying why he was sacked.