Nelson Mandela's Chosen One Gets His Turn in Office Years After

It was the moment Cyril Ramaphosa wanted in 1999.The former anti-apartheid activist was Nelson Mandela's favorite to succeed him as leader of the African National Congress and South African president, but the party overlooked him in a crushing blow to his political ambitions.
Nineteen years later, Ramaphosa finally has his chance -- but under very different circumstances.
He will take the reins from the scandal-hit Jacob Zuma, who resigned as President in disgrace on Wednesday after the ANC abandoned him over an astounding number of corruption allegations against him, deciding he could not possibly take the party through the 2019 general elections.
Following the Mandela years, Ramaphosa would have been tasked with taking a much-loved national hero's vision forward. Instead he must revive the national hero's legacy and save his party from ruin.
The ANC took a battering in local elections in 2016, mired in scandal, corruption and weak governance, and it hopes that in Ramaphosa, they have a leader to change the narrative for the 2019 vote.