Magashule 'advised’ to publicly apologise - Ramaphosa

This comes after a letter from the Office of the Secretary General surfaced on social media, announcing Ramaphosa's suspension - hours after the party had temporarily suspended Magashule.

A defiant Magashule refused to go down without a fight, vowing to appeal his "fatally flawed" suspension.

At the time, he claimed his deputy Jessie Duarte had no powers to serve him with the letter.

Magashule's suspension will see him sit out of party politics.

In a special national executive committee (NEC) over the weekend, the party reaffirmed its commitment to see the step-aside resolution through.

"The NEC confirmed that in the light of the temporary suspension of the Secretary General, Deputy Secretary General Jessie Duarte will, in accordance with the ANC Constitution, carry out the functions entrusted to the Secretary General by the National Conference, the National General Council, the NEC or the NWC," Ramaphosa said on Monday when he delivered the meeting's closing remarks.

"The NEC reaffirms its full confidence in the Deputy Secretary General and supports her in carrying out her duties as per the ANC Constitution."

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Ramaphosa further hit out at Magashule for his public display of defiance in the past few weeks.

"The NEC discussed the letter of suspension written by the secretary-general to the president, for which the secretary-general had no authority or mandate from any structure of the movement. The NEC agreed that such conduct was completely unacceptable and a flagrant violation of the rules, norms and values of the ANC," he said.

"The NEC furthermore instructed the Officials to advise the Secretary General to apologise publicly to ANC structures and members within a set timeframe.

"If he fails to do so, the ANC will institute disciplinary procedures in accordance with the ANC Constitution."

It's unclear how much time Magaushule was given to issue the apology.