Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa is the fifth and current president of South Africa, a position he has served since 2018.
Despite holding the most powerful office in the country, Cyril Ramaphosa has managed to keep his personal and family affairs very private.
This article digs deep into the president’s private life and reveals who Cyril Ramaphosa’s sister, brother and parents are, as well as his wife, ex-wives and children.
Cyril Ramaphosa’s parents and background
President Ramaphosa was born on the 17th of November 1952, in Tshiawelo, Soweto to a Venda family.
Cyril Ramaphosa’s father was the late Samuel Ramaphosa- a retired police officer, while his mother was the late Munyadziwa Erdmuth Ramaphosa who passed on in 2001 at the age of 82 years.
The second born in a family of three children, Cyril Ramaphosa studied at Tshilidzi Primary School and Sekano Ntoane High School in Soweto before joining Mphaphuli High School in Sibasa, Venda where he matriculated in 1971.
He then joined the University of the North (Turfloop) in Limpopo where he became involved in students politics and joined the South African Students Organisation (SASO). This was the beginning of his journey in political activism and the fight against apartheid, which ultimately led him to national politics.
Read also: Meet Duduzile Zuma and the entire Zuma clan.
Who is Cyril Ramaphosa’s sister
Cyril Ramaphosa’s sister is Ivy Ramaphosa. She is the oldest amongst her siblings- Cyril and Douglas Ramaphosa and the only sister in the family of three.
Although she is directly related to the most powerful man in South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa’s sister keeps a low profile and very little is known about her.
After Ramaphosa won the ANC presidential race at Nasrec in December 2017, Ivy who bears a striking resemblance to her younger brother and is very supportive of him was over the moon with happiness.
She further revealed that their late father had never imagined that South Africa would ever produce a black president as he saw the country as a white man’s land, and he sure would be proud of his son.
Cyril Ramaphosa’s wife and children
Cyril Ramaphosa has been married three times and divorced twice. His current wife and current first lady of South Africa is Dr Tshepo Motsepe.
Dr Tshepo Motsepe is a medical doctor and the sister to billionaire- Patrice Motsepe. She and Cyril got married in 1996 and together they have three children- Tumelo, Kiki, and Mashudu.
Cyril Ramaphosa’s first marriage was to Hope Ramaphosa. The ex-couple got married in 1978 and divorced in 1989. Their marriage resulted in the birth of Cyril Ramaphosa’s firstborn son- Andile Ramaphosa.
After his divorce from Hope, Cyril Ramaphosa got married for the second time this time to a successful businesswoman- Nomazizi Mtshotshisa. The two were blessed with a daughter- Tulisa Ramaphosa but they divorced in 1993. Mtshotshisa died in 2008 after battling a long illness.
Read also: Meet Cyril Ramaphosa’s children.
Did Cyril Ramaphosa abuse his ex-wife?
In 2017, EFF leader Julius Malema made a damning allegation that Cyril Ramaphosa had physically assaulted his ex-wife.
Ramaphosa’s ex-wife Hope came to her ex-husband’s defense and denied that he had never abused her during their relationship while reaffirming that Cyril was not a violent person.