South Africans Recall Mosiuoa Lekota’s Controversial Words on President Ramaphosa

• Tributes pour in on social media following the death of the Congress of the People (COPE) founder, Mosiuoa 'Terror' Lekota
• An old interview resurfaced of Lekota reflecting on the apartheid-era detentions and Cyril Ramaphosa's controversial statements
• In the interview, Lekota said those who had distanced themselves later invited them to work together

Justin Williams, a journalist at Briefly News since 2024, covers South Africa’s current affairs. Before joining Briefly News, he served as a writer and chief editor at Right for Education Africa’s South African chapter.

Mosiuoa "Terror" Lekota, founder of the Congress of the People (COPE), sparked strong reactions when a video resurfaced where he reflected on the apartheid-era detentions and President Cyril Ramaphosa's role. This follows the announcement of Lekota's death on Wednesday morning, 4 March 2026.

Lekota had allegedly put communist ideas in Ramaphosa's head

Cope confirmed that Lekota died on Wednesday, 4 March 2026, after a short illness. Lekota was a senior member of the African National Congress (ANC) during the era of former President Thabo Mbeki, but broke away to form COPE. In the interview on SMWX, Lekota recalled that the Attorney General of the Transvaal at the time was John Rees. He said his group requested the statements of all detainees, including Cyril Ramaphosa, to see what they had told the police.

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Cyril Ramaphosa hails Mosiuoa Lekota as a servant of the people after anti-Apartheid icon's passing

Lekota said he read Ramaphosa's statement and found that Ramaphosa described himself as a "very good boy, a Christian boy" and claimed that Lekota had put communist ideas in his head. He said this explained why he became accused number three in the trial, something he had previously been unable to clarify despite repeated questions from the advocates.

He added that the statement showed how others shifted blame to secure their own release. Lekota said those who had distanced themselves later invited them to work together, but he said they should have joined the struggle from the start and gone all the way.

South Africans weigh in

Social media users shared their thoughts regarding the resurfaced interview.

@Ndaba_2025 said:

"He survived. Imagine being accused number three because of Ramaphosa."

@eldos_08002 said:

"But some people say they only saw Ramaphosa in 1990 when Mandela was released."

@Nomakanjan44920 said:

"This is the same guy who, when Motswaledi accused him in parliament of canvassing for Cyril ahead of the first ANC conference in Durban, he had no answer to that."

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5FM radio personality Xoliswa Zondo pays tribute to Mosiuoa Lekota

@MonwabisiKete said:

"Let me park here."

@RSA_Xenophobe said:

"We have the receipts."

5FM radio personality Xoliswa Zondo pays tribute to COPE founder Mosiuoa Lekota

In another article, Briefly News reported that popular 5FM radio personality Xoliswa Zondo and social media users paid tribute to Mosiuoa Lekota, who passed away on Wednesday, 4 March 2026.

The 77-year-old politician, who was the leader of the Congress of the People party (COPE), died after a long illness at a hospital in Johannesburg. The radio personality paid tribute to the politician on her X account on 4 March 2026.

Source: Briefly News