Mathole Motshekga
{{Short description|South African politician and lawyer (born 1949)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}{{Use South African English|date = November 2012}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Mathole Motshekga
| image =
| caption =
| office2 = 2nd Premier of Gauteng
| term_end = 2008
| predecessor2 = Tokyo Sexwale
| successor2 = Mbhazima Shilowa
| constituency =
| majority =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1949|04|02}}
| birth_place = Modjadjiskloof, Transvaal, Union of South Africa
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = African National Congress|
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
| office = Member of the National Assembly
| termstart = 6 May 2009
| termend = 28 May 2024
| office1 = Chief Whip of the Majority Party
| predecessor1 = Mnyamezeli Booi
| successor1 = Stone Sizani
| president1 = Jacob Zuma
| alma_mater = University of South Africa
Harvard Law School
| termstart1 = May 2009
| termend1 = 20 June 2013
| termstart2 = January 1998
| termend2 = 1999
| spouse = Angie Motshekga
| birth_name = Mathole Serofo Motshekga
}}
Mathole Serofo Motshekga (born 2 April 1949) is a retired South African politician and lawyer. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly of South Africa between May 2009 and May 2024, during which time he was the Chief Whip of the Majority Party from 2009 to 2013. Before that, he was the second Premier of Gauteng from 1998 to 1999.
Born in Limpopo, Motshekga was an advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa during apartheid and also taught law at the University of South Africa. In September 1997, he was elected Provincial Chairperson of the ANC in Gauteng, and he succeeded Tokyo Sexwale as Premier in January 1998. However, after the 1999 general election, newly elected President Thabo Mbeki asked Motshekga to resign as Premier. In subsequent years, Motshekga served as an ordinary Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.
After joining the National Assembly in the 2009 general election, Motshekga was the Chief Whip of the Majority Party until June 2013, when he was demoted to an ordinary seat in Parliament. Over the next decade he chaired a number of parliamentary committees. He also served two non-consecutive terms on the ANC National Executive Committee from 2007 to 2012 and from 2017 to 2022.
Early life and career
Motshekga was born on 2 April 1949 in Modjadjiskloof in what later became South Africa's Limpopo province.{{Cite web |title=Mathole Serofo Motshekga |url=http://www.pa.org.za/person/mathole-serofo-motshekga/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=People's Assembly |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Biography of Professor Mathole Serofo Motshekga, MP |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/d-za/dv/biographies2_global_/biographies2_global_en.pdf |access-date=27 December 2022 |website=European Parliament}} His father was a ranger on a white-owned farm, and he had younger siblings.{{Cite web |date=2016-09-26 |title=MP Corner: Dr Mathole Motshekga (ANC) |url=https://pa.org.za/blog/mr-mathole-motshekga-anc |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=People's Assembly |language=en}} He matriculated in 1969 and, after graduation, worked as a clerk at the University of the North.
Thereafter he studied law at the University of South Africa (Unisa), earning a BJuris in 1975. In 1976 he moved to Pretoria to complete his articles for qualification as an attorney. He received an LLB from Unisa in 1978 and enrolled to complete an LLD at the same university. In 1979, he received a scholarship to conduct his doctoral research in Germany, where he conducted solidarity work for the African National Congress (ANC), attempting to mobilise international support for the anti-apartheid cause. He did similar work while visiting the United States the following year.
Upon his return to South Africa, Motshekga was appointed a senior lecturer at Unisa, where he worked from 1984 to 1994. In 1984, he was admitted as an advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa. He ultimately obtained both his LLD, from Unisa, and an LLM from Harvard Law School. He also maintained his contacts inside the ANC, which in the 1980s was based in Lusaka, Zambia. When the ANC was unbanned by the apartheid government in 1990, Motshekga was appointed to the interim leadership corps of the ANC in the PWV region around Pretoria, then headed by Tokyo Sexwale.{{Cite web |date=1997-07-04 |title=Premier stakes: What tipsters say |url=https://mg.co.za/article/1997-07-04-premier-stakes-what-tipsters-say/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}
Provincial political career
= ANC Provincial Chairperson: 1997–2000 =
At the time of South Africa's first post-apartheid election in 1994, Motshekga was Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the ANC branch in the country's new Gauteng province.{{Cite web |date=1997-12-17 |title=50th National Conference: Report of the Secretary General |url=https://www.anc1912.org.za/50th-national-conference-report-of-the-secretary-general-provincial-reports/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128234926/https://www.anc1912.org.za/50th-national-conference-report-of-the-secretary-general-provincial-reports/ |archive-date=28 November 2022 |access-date=29 November 2022 |website=African National Congress }} He held that position until September 1997, when ANC Provincial Chairperson Tokyo Sexwale resigned and Motshekga was elected to succeed him. His election followed a heated succession battle with multiple rounds of voting: Motshekga defeated Amos Masondo and then, in the final round of voting, beat Frank Chikane with 343 votes to Chikane's 179.{{Cite web |date=1997-09-29 |title=Motshekga's landslide win |url=https://mg.co.za/article/1997-09-29-motshekgas-landslide-win/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}{{Cite web |date=1997-09-19 |title=Shenanigans over Gauteng premier continue |url=https://mg.co.za/article/1997-09-19-shenanigans-over-gauteng-premier-continue/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}
= Premier of Gauteng: 1998–1999 =
Motshekga likewise succeeded Sexwale as Premier of Gauteng in January 1998 when Sexwale vacated that post.{{Cite web |date=1998-01-16 |title=New Gauteng premier's shady background |url=https://mg.co.za/article/1998-01-16-new-gauteng-premiers-shady-background/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}} During his tenure, he was subject to an internal investigation by the ANC.{{Cite web |date=1998-04-17 |title=Premier probed over spy claim |url=https://mg.co.za/article/1998-04-17-premier-probed-over-spy-claim/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}} President Thabo Mbeki asked him to resign as Premier in April 1999, shortly after Mbeki took office in a general election.{{Cite web |date=1999-04-23 |title=ANC stunned over axed premiers |url=https://mg.co.za/article/1999-04-23-anc-stunned-over-axed-premiers/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}} Motshekga's ousting from the government office led to division inside the provincial ANC, and the Motshekga-led ANC Provincial Executive Committee was disbanded by the national party leadership in 2000, prematurely ending Motshekga's term as ANC Provincial Chairperson.{{Cite web |date=2001-11-16 |title=ANC Gauteng moves to eliminate internal rifts |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2001-11-16-anc-gauteng-moves-to-eliminate-internal-rifts/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}{{Cite web |date=2001-04-26 |title=A battle for power in the regions |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2001-04-26-a-battle-for-power-in-the-regions/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}{{Cite web |date=2001-10-26 |title=Challengers for Shilowa |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2001-10-26-challengers-for-shilowa/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}
In subsequent years, Motshekga expanded his business interests.{{Cite web |date=6 November 2002 |title=Ex-premier acquires 50% of QES |url=https://www.news24.com/fin24/ex-premier-acquires-50-of-qes-20021106 |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=30 November 2004 |title=Commission clears MEC of unlawful conduct |url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/commission-clears-mec-of-unlawful-conduct-228287 |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=IOL |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2006-07-21 |title=What's mine is yours is ours... |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2006-07-21-whats-mine-is-yours-ours/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}{{Cite web |date=2006-12-05 |title=Motshekga rapped over knuckles in legislature |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2006-12-05-motshekga-rapped-over-knuckles-in-legislature/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}} He was also elected to return to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature as an ordinary member in the 2004 general election.{{Cite web |date=2004 |title=Seat assignment report: Provincial elections African National Congress |url=https://www.elections.org.za/content/NPEPublicReports/50/Seat%20Assignment/National_7.pdf |access-date=8 April 2023 |website=Electoral Commission}}
National political career
At the ANC's 52nd National Conference in December 2007, Motshekga was elected to a five-year term on the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC), the party's top executive organ; by number of votes received, he ranked 53rd of the 80 candidates elected.{{Cite web |date=20 December 2007 |title=52nd National Conference: National Executive Committee as elected |url=https://www.anc1912.org.za/national-executive-committee-as-elected/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=African National Congress |language=en-US}}
= ANC Chief Whip: 2009–2013 =
In the 2009 general election, Motshekga was elected as a Member of the National Assembly (NA), the lower house of the South African Parliament; at the same time, he was appointed Chief Whip of the ANC, the majority party, in the NA.{{Cite web |date=2013-06-21 |title=Motshekga axed as ANC chief whip |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2013-06-21-00-motshekga-axed-as-anc-chief-whip/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}{{Cite web |date=2011-04-09 |title=Chief Motshekga under the whip |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2011-04-09-chief-motshekga-under-the-whip/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}} He served in that position until June 2013, becoming the party's longest-serving Chief Whip.
However, Motshekga was removed as Chief Whip before the end of his term because, at the ANC's next national conference in December 2012, he narrowly{{Cite web |last=Munusamy |first=Ranjeni |date=2013-06-20 |title=Number 81, Mathole Motshekga, gets relegated to the backbench |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-06-21-number-81-mathole-motshekga-gets-relegated-to-the-backbench/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=Daily Maverick |language=en}} failed to gain re-election to the ANC NEC. The NEC said this situation was incongruent with a party resolution adopted in 2008 which required the Chief Whip to sit on the NEC.{{Cite web |last= |date=20 June 2013 |title=Mantashe explains ANC chief whip recall |url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/mantashe-explains-anc-chief-whip-recall-1535049 |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=IOL |language=en}} The ANC therefore removed Motshekga as Chief Whip on 20 June 2013, replacing him with Stone Sizani.{{Cite web |date=20 June 2013 |title=ANC replaces chief whip |url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/anc-replaces-chief-whip-1535029 |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=IOL |language=en}}
= Legislator: 2013–2024 =
At a later date, after his removal as Chief Whip, Motshekga was in any case co-opted onto the ANC NEC. At the party's 54th National Conference in December 2017, he was democratically elected to another five-year term on the body,{{Cite web |date=2017-12-21 |title=Here is the ANC's new NEC |url=https://www.news24.com/citypress/special-report/anc_conference/here-is-the-ancs-new-nec-20171221 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207232519/https://www.news24.com/citypress/special-report/anc_conference/here-is-the-ancs-new-nec-20171221 |archive-date=2021-12-07 |access-date=2021-12-07 |website=Citypress |language=en-US}} although he was not nominated to stand for re-election at the 55th National Conference in December 2022.{{Cite web |date=1 December 2022 |title=55th National Conference: Top 200 NEC Nominations |url=https://www.anc1912.org.za/anc-55th-national-conference-top-200-nec-nominations/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=African National Congress |language=en-US}}
Simultaneously, Motshekga remained an ordinary Member of Parliament, and he was re-elected to his seat in 2014 and 2019. In addition, in 2014 he was appointed to represent the ANC as an NA delegate to the Judicial Service Commission.{{Cite web |date=5 October 2014 |title=Malema takes part in first judge selection |url=https://www.enca.com/south-africa/malema-takes-part-first-judge-selection |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=eNCA |language=en}} He served on a number of parliamentary committees, including as Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services (from June 2014 to August 2018) and Chairperson of the Joint Standing Committee on the Financial Management of Parliament (from August 2018 to May 2019).{{Cite news |date=29 August 2018 |title=Hearing into why Busisiwe Mkhwebane thinks she should stay put is delayed |language=en-ZA |work=Business Day |url=https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2018-08-29-anc-mp-mathole-motshekga-booted-out-of-justice-portfolio-committee/ |access-date=2022-12-27}} He publicly criticised President Jacob Zuma towards the end of Zuma's presidential term,{{Cite web |last=Motshekga |first=Mathole |date=6 November 2016 |title=The Honourable Thing To Do |url=https://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/dispatch/read-mathole-motshekgas-explosive-document-here-2087196 |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=IOL |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=6 November 2016 |title=#StateCapture: Mathole Motshekga breaks ranks |url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/statecapture-mathole-motshekga-breaks-ranks-2087198 |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=IOL |language=en}} and he was subsequently viewed as a supporter of Zuma's successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa.{{Cite web |date=2022-12-02 |title=Ramaphosa political fate hangs in balance in South Africa |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221202-ramaphosa-political-fate-hangs-in-balance-in-south-africa |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=France 24 |language=en}}
He did not stand for re-election to his parliamentary seat in the 2024 general election.
Balobedu royal family
By the time of the inauguration of Makobo Modjadji VI as Rain Queen in 2003, Motshekga was an adviser to the royal family of Limpopo's Balobedu people.{{Cite web |date=2003-04-13 |title=New Rain Queen crowned in Limpopo |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2003-04-13-new-rain-queen-crowned-in-limpopo/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}} After Makobo Modjadji died in 2005, Motshekga raised her only daughter, Princess Masalanabo, who at the time of the queen's death was still an infant.{{Cite web |last=Phooko |first=Kgomotso |date=2022-10-14 |title=Rain Queen battle: Mathole Motshekga ordered to pay Modjadji royal family's legal costs |url=https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/courts/rain-queen-battle-mathole-motshekga-postponement-request-denied/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Citizen |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Sadike |first=Mashudu |date=23 September 2022 |title=Mathole Motshekga seeks to interdict inauguration of Balobedu Prince Lukukela Modjadji |url=https://www.iol.co.za/pretoria-news/news/mathole-motshekga-seeks-to-interdict-inauguration-of-balobedu-prince-lukukela-modjadji-ef54e203-628b-4457-ad57-71540352f8f6 |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=IOL |language=en}} This led to a custody battle{{Cite web |date=26 March 2015 |title=Motshekgas accused of 'kidnapping' Modjadji princess |url=https://www.enca.com/south-africa/anc-mps-accused-kidnapping-modjadji-princess |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=eNCA |language=en}} and ultimately to a rift with the royal family. In 2019, the family accused Motshekga of attempting to turn the princess against them and "hijack" the throne. In 2022, Motshekga took the family to court in a bid to challenge the coronation of Masalanabo's brother, Prince Lukukela, as Balobedu monarch; he claimed that Masalanabo was the rightful heir to the throne.
Personal life
Motshekga believes in a religion which he calls Karaism and describes as an indigenous African religion. He is married to cabinet minister Angie Motshekga, with whom he has a son, Kabelo, and grandchildren.{{cite news |last1=Mothombeni |first1=Aubrey |title=Angie Motshekga's son in fight over lavish property |url=https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/sundayworld/news/2018-05-08-angie-motshekga-son-in-fight-over-lavish-property/ |access-date=25 July 2020 |newspaper=Sunday World |date=8 May 2018}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{People's Assembly (South Africa)|mathole-serofo-motshekga/|Dr Mathole Serofo Motshekga}}
{{GautengPremiers}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Motshekga, Mathole}}
Category:Northern Sotho people
Category:African National Congress politicians
Category:20th-century South African lawyers
Category:21st-century South African lawyers
Category:University of South Africa alumni
Category:Harvard Law School alumni
Category:Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2019–2024
Category:Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2009–2014
Category:Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2014–2019