VENDA WISDOM IN ACTION: Cyril Ramaphosa, the Silent Strategist of South African Politics
The Venda people are known for their quiet strength, patience, and wisdom — and President Cyril Ramaphosa embodies that to the fullest. Unlike other leaders who shout and fight in public, Ramaphosa’s greatest weapon has always been silence, intelligence, and timing.
From his Venda roots to the corridors of power, Ramaphosa has mastered the art of waiting, calculating, and striking at the right moment. He is calm on the surface, but behind the scenes he outsmarts rivals with precision.
His story of silent power:
In the 1980s and 1990s, he was already shaping history as a union leader and later as the ANC’s chief negotiator at CODESA — calmly dismantling apartheid at the negotiation table.
When Jacob Zuma dominated politics, Ramaphosa stepped back, building business empires, global networks, and ANC alliances. He never fought Zuma head-on — he outlasted him.
At the 2017 Nasrec Conference, he pulled off one of the narrowest yet most decisive victories in ANC history, defeating Zuma’s candidate and claiming the presidency.
When scandals like Phala Phala threatened him, he leaned on silence, legal institutions, and party support — surviving storms that would have sunk other leaders.
How he silenced rivals:
Zuma attacks him at rallies, but Ramaphosa lets the courts speak for him.
The opposition insults him in Parliament, yet his calm, lawyer-like answers drain their energy.
The media tried to bury him, but he starved the headlines of drama until the noise faded.
易 Just like the Venda elders who guide with wisdom and patience, Ramaphosa rules not with noise, but with strategy. Whether loved or hated, history may remember him as South Africa’s most secretive, intelligent, and quietly powerful