Thursday, 3 July 2025

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) expresses our deepest condolences on the passing of David Dabede Mabuza, the former Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, a veteran of the liberation struggle, and a long-serving servant of the people. We extend our sympathies to his wife, children, extended family, comrades in the African National Congress (ANC), and all those mourning this loss across the nation.

Mabuza was born in 1960 in Phola Trust, Mpumalanga, where he was raised. It was in these difficult social conditions, under apartheid oppression, economic exclusion, and racial discrimination, that Mabuza was politicised, becoming part of a generation that answered the call to fight for the liberation of Black people. He trained as a teacher, obtaining a Teacher’s Certificate from Mgwenya College of Education in 1985, and later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Education from the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 1989, equipping him to contribute meaningfully as an educator, and later, a political organiser.

In the 1980s, while working as a teacher and later a principal, Mabuza joined the ranks of progressive youth and student organisations resisting the apartheid regime. He became a leader within the Azanian Students Organisation (AZASO) and later the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU). His involvement in mass mobilisation efforts in several other teachers’ organisations reflected the broader determination of Black professionals and educators to play their role in the emancipation of their people.

With the unbanning of political organisations and the negotiated transition to democracy in the early 1990s, Mabuza emerged as a public political leader. He joined the African National Congress (ANC), representing them as a member of the first democratically elected Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature in 1994. He went on to serve in various executive roles within the provincial government, including as MEC for Education, MEC for Housing, and MEC for Agriculture and Land Administration between 1994 and 2008.

In 2009, he became Premier of Mpumalanga, a position he held until 2018. In December 2017, Mabuza played a decisive role in shifting the internal balance of forces, being elected Deputy President of the ANC, and later appointed Deputy President of the Republic in 2018. He served in this role until 2023 under President Cyril Ramaphosa. During his term, he chaired the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) and headed several crucial national task teams while being the leader of government business in Parliament.

Though Mabuza only served one term in office and never ascended to the Presidency, a rarity for someone who held the position of Deputy President, he never placed personal ambition above the duties of his office. When he fell out of favour with his party, he did not use his political challenges as a reason to destabilise the country, he instead bowed out of public office with grace and a clear sense of duty to the Republic.

As the EFF, we honour David Mabuza not only for the positions he held, but for being part of a generation of Black South Africans who stood up in the face of a violent regime and committed themselves, despite personal risk, to the ideal of a free and equal society. May David Dabede Mabuza rest in revolutionary peace.

ISSUED BY ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Sinawo Thambo (National Spokesperson) 072 629 7422

Thembi Msane (National Spokesperson) 061 467 8169

Andiswa Madikazi (Parliament Media Liason) 069 516 4924

Thato Lebyane (Media Inquiries) 078 563 1581