05-07-2025
DD, the unifier, was a man of his word, and I can vouch for his dependability
On Thursday July 3 2025, former deputy president David Debede Mabuza sadly departed. Aged 64, his untimely passing deepens the moment of grief.
Mabuza's extensive record in public affairs offers valuable insights into leadership. This is particularly so since his story is part of South Africa's post-apartheid journey under the leadership of an ANC of which he was a member and leader.
'DD' — as Mabuza was popularly known — was a mathematics teacher who cut his anti-apartheid activism in the Azanian Students Organisation (Azaso) in his youth in the 1980s, and later joined the Congress Movement, led by the ANC.
After the first democratic elections in 1994, he was deployed to the government to help realise the society of the promise of the Freedom Charter, whose 70th anniversary we mark this year. As an ANC deployee in government, Mabuza was one of the early pathfinders of our democracy, whose ingenuity provided the foundation upon which the democratic edifice stands.
Their commitment to the cause of democracy helped to restore the people's confidence in the government after the erosion of trust during the apartheid era. His effusive and staid disposition proved to be an added advantage in the post-apartheid confidence-building process — without which the democratic government would have struggled to rebuild and sustain the confidence of the people.
In the tradition of the ANC, leadership is a collaborative process. Each leader brings their strengths to bear, while simultaneously mitigating the shortcomings of their colleagues. One has to see oneself as a team player; indeed, as part of a collective with a shared outlook, roles and responsibilities.
In this, Mabuza distinguished himself well, inspiring many around him. He was a man of his word, and I can personally vouch for his dependability. Once he had committed himself to something or a course of action, he stuck to it regardless of the cost or inconvenience to his personal wellbeing.
He was also a man of few words. Yet, when he spoke, his voice carried authority and decisiveness.
To be a team player also means that one should endeavour to be a unifier, a trait that Mabuza possessed in sufficient stock. In the run-up to the 2017 ANC national conference, and after, he was widely associated with the concept and practice of 'unity'. He appealed to Mpumalanga and all conference delegates to promote organisational unity and cohesion, in word and in deed.
Unity is essential not only for the ANC. It is of critical importance to all South Africans, black and white. We sink or swim together. There is no better way to achieve national unity than to work towards the South Africa envisioned in the Freedom Charter. History is the work of the hands of more than an individual leader. However, it is nearly impossible to analyse the 2017 conference and its aftermath without the role of Mabuza, among other actors.
