For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines: DA, MK Party to file urgent court action against Ramaphosa; SA records second Mpox case; And South Africa's Ramaphosa steers ANC into potentially pivotal election

DA, MK Party to file urgent court action against Ramaphosa

The Democratic Alliance and the uMkhonto Wesizwe Party have vowed to file urgent applications in the Electoral Court against African National Congress President Cyril Ramaphosa, citing Ramaphosa in his personal capacity for violating the Electoral Code of Conduct.

This after Ramaphosa addressed the nation on Sunday evening, ahead of the 2024 elections.

DA leader John Steenhuisen noted that under the guise of delivering an address to the nation, Ramaphosa violated the Electoral Code of Conduct when he “abused” the highest office in the land for “flagrant electioneering”.

He said Ramaphosa’s “manipulation” was “cynical, calculated and designed” to influence the outcome of the election by providing the ANC with unearned airtime not made available to any other party contesting the election.

The MK Party highlighted that it was their contention that Ramaphosa had knowingly misused his Presidential office to deploy State resources in a manner that “unfairly” benefited his “corrupt and desperate” political party, the ANC.

The party noted that the “desperation and gravity” of Ramaphosa’s actions cannot be understated.

In its affidavit, the party request the Electoral Court to cancel the ANC’s registration as a political party and to initiate criminal proceedings against Ramaphosa with penalties severe enough to reflect the seriousness of the infringement, including potential imprisonment.

SA records second Mpox case

South Africa has recorded the second laboratory-confirmed case of Mpox disease, an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus with the potential to cause a painful or itchy rash like pimples or blisters.

The new patient is a 39-year-old male who was admitted at Addington Hospital in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal without travel history to countries and regions currently experiencing the outbreak of the disease.

The Department of Health urged members of the public who experience suspected symptoms of Mpox disease to visit their nearest healthcare provider for screening and testing to ensure early diagnosis and effective treatment to prevent further spread of the disease.

Working closely with the KZN province and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the department has activated contract tracing and case finding to identify and assess people who have been in contact with the patient to prevent further transmission, especially at a household and community level.

It said this will also assist to establish if the second case was in contact with the first case confirmed in Gauteng earlier this month.

And South Africa's Ramaphosa steers ANC into potentially pivotal election

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has staked his reputation on cleaning up the image of the ruling African National Congress, will lead the party toward its biggest test of the democratic era when South Africans vote on Wednesday.

Ramaphosa, who helped found the country's biggest mining union and later became one of its wealthiest businessmen, took on the presidency in 2018 and survived a misconduct scandal to be re-elected to the ANC's helm in 2022.

He has struggled to lift economic growth, make a dent in high unemployment with a third of South Africans jobless, or end crippling power cuts - all of which voters are expected to punish the ANC for at the ballot box on May 29.

If the party loses its majority for the first time in 30 years, as opinion polls predict, some political analysts say 71-year-old Ramaphosa will be unlikely to see out a second term.

Ramaphosa was the ANC's lead negotiator during talks that led to a peaceful end to apartheid, which enabled Nelson Mandela to become South Africa's first black President after 1994's historic all-race vote.

He also played an important role in the drafting of South Africa's progressive Constitution.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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