(Ecofin Agency) - The South African minister of interior Malusi Gigaba (photo), who declared in October 2018 that he was the victim of blackmail attempts following the theft of a sextape involving him, resigned from office, the South African presidency announced in a statement published on November 13, 2018.

The same source confirms that his resignation was accepted by president Cyril Ramaphosa.

In his resignation letter, the minister explained that he was doing it in the nation and party’s interest as well as "to relieve the President from undue pressure".

Known as one of the close allies of former president Jacob Zuma, Malusi Gigaba has been the finance minister from March 2017 to February 2018 when he became the minister of home affairs. He was the one who revealed the sextape blackmail on Twitter in late October 2018.  The video  "was stolen when my communication got illegally intercepted/my phone got hacked, in 2016/17", Malusi Gigaba tweeted.

"This video has been at the centre of a number of blackmail and extortion attempts, dating back to the period immediately following my appointment as Minister of Finance, on 31 March 2017, all of which I have steadfastly refused to entertain...", the minister added in another tweet.  

Earlier in November, he refused to resign assuring that he has already reported the case to law enforcement and intelligence agencies.