Mathews Phosa: They did not call David Mabuza 'The Cat' for nothing

IOL News

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The ANC top six which emerged from the 54th ANC national conference in 2017 - deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, secretary-general Ace Magashule, chairperson Gwede Mantashe, president Cyril Ramaphosa, deputy president David Mabuza and treasury-general Paul Mashatile.
Image: Picture: Motshwari Mofokeng/IOL
Former Mpumalanga premier, Dr Mathews Phosa, has paid tribute to former deputy President David Dabede Mabuza who also hailed from Mpumalanga and also previously served as premier of the province from 2009 to 2018.
IOL reported on Thursday that Mabuza died in hospital at the age of 64. He served as deputy president during President Cyril Ramaphosa's first term at the Union Buildings.
On Friday, as tributes continue to pour for the man nicknamed 'The Cat' in South African politics due to his survival instinct, Phosa described Mabuza as a shrewd politician who contributed significantly to South Africa.
'He was a very shrewd politician. They call him the cat, not for nothing, he had many political tricks which entertained people. It got him where he got at the end of the day,' Phosa said in an interview with broadcaster Newzroom Afrika.
As tributes pour in, many people are remembering Mabuza for his skillful maneuvering at the African National Congress (ANC) 2017 elective conference at Nasrec in Johannesburg, where the then Mpumalanga premier became kingmaker in Ramaphosa's path to the Union Buildings.
Widely believed to be a backer of contender Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Mabuza at the last minute threw his decisive weight behind Ramaphosa, a move which earned him the second-in-command position in South Africa.
Reminiscing on the thriller conference, Phosa said Mabuza consulted him before making the tough decision.
'DD was initially standing with Nkosazana. I remember when we stood outside the conference room, he said what do I do? I said we have thrown our lot with comrade Cyril. He said he was being pulled this way and that way. I said to him it is a democracy and he had a right to choose, and he must decide and follow his heart. He supported comrade Cyril Ramaphosa," said Phosa.
'That is how the whole vote was swung against Nkosazana.'
Mabuza and Phosa did not always have a rosy relationship. In 2017, IOL reported that Mabuza, then premier of Mpumalanga, lost his R10-million defamation lawsuit against Phosa, who is also former ANC treasurer-general.
Former ANC treasurer-general, Mathews Phosa. Newspapers.
Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent
Judge Bill Prinsloo in the High Court in Pretoria not only dismissed the claim, but he also slapped Mabuza with a punitive costs order.
Mabuza claimed Phosa defamed him in a spy report, which was published in the media, when he was already the premier of Mpumalanga.
He claimed Phosa was the author of the report in which the premier was made out to be an apartheid spy. It contained claims that Mabuza was involved in the murder of former ANC activist Portia Shabangu.
She was assassinated in the 80's by the controversial head of Vlakplaas, Eugene de Kock.
Phosa earlier testified that he never compiled the so-called spy report. He said an unmarked envelope was found on the veranda of his White River farmhouse. Inside the envelope was a document which later became known as the so-called spy report.
'I was shocked by its content and worried about it, as it referred to the premier. The allegations were so serious that I decided to hand it over to the ANC top structures. If the allegations were true, the report could harm the ANC leadership. Only a traitor of the ANC would hide it from them.'
Phosa said he forwarded the report to then ANC secretary-general Jessie Duarte, as before this she had visited him to discuss party issues.
At the end of the meeting Duarte, out of the blue, asked him 'who is this David Mabuza', he said.
Former deputy secretary general of the ANC, Jessie Duarte.
Image: Nhlanhla Phillips/Independent Media
'When I held office as premier of Mpumalanga, I appointed Mabuza as education MEC and he served under me as part of my executive cabinet.'
After this Phosa did not hear anything until a reporter phoned and asked him whether he knew that Mabuza was going to sue him.
Phosa denied that he had anything to do with the report and said his former butler, Jan Venter – who is at the centre of this dispute – lied when he implicated him (Phosa).
Venter testified that he overheard Phosa 'concocting' the spy allegations against Mabuza. But the controversial butler twice switched sides.
In the end, Judge Prinsloo ruled that he could not find that Phosa was the author of the document.
Meanwhile, President Ramaphosa has also paid tribute to his former deputy, Mabuza.
Ramaphosa conveyed his condolences to Mabuza's family.
"On behalf of government and the nation, I offer my profound condolences to the late deputy president's wife, Mrs Mabuza, and their children. I extend my condolences to deputy president Mabuza's friends and the people of Mpumalanga whom he served as Premier from 2009 to 2018, and previously as a member of the executive council of Mpumalanga across a range of portfolios."
He said Mabuza had a deep commitment to the liberation struggle and to the nation's development as an inclusive, prosperous, democratic state.