S.Africa's ANC faces power struggle as top official defies suspension

FILE PHOTO: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa adjusts his mask as he appears to testify before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture in Johannesburg, South Africa, April 28, 2021. Themba Hadebe/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - A top official in South Africa's African National Congress (ANC) has appealed against his suspension on corruption charges and attempted to suspend President Cyril Ramaphosa in an increasingly open power struggle in the governing party.

ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule, who has denied the corruption allegations, was suspended on Wednesday by the party once led by late apartheid fighter Nelson Mandela. The move follows an anti-corruption campaign launched by Ramaphosa in 2018 when he took over as state president with promises to crack down hard on widespread graft.