Mantashe has ‘caught the whiteman’s disease’ called stress

Taking to Twitter on Saturday morning, EFF chairperson Advocate Dali Mpofu quipped about the announcement on Friday that ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe has no further plans to return to work in Luthuli House next year.

Mantashe told delegates at an SA Community Party (SACP) imbizo at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg on Friday morning that he would not be contesting the secretary-general position in December, though he went on to offer the ruling party a road map to recovery, according to him.

He said that politics was too stressful and he did not see chance for another five years of “sitting in Luthuli House”.

“Baba Msimango uyabona I am sitting in Luthuli House for 10 years … this in my tenth year. I will not be secretary-general in January, okay. I can assure you of that. If I try that luck I [might] as well buy a coffin.

“Ana stress, asinicapazeli stress is a feature of my life I am just moving on. I am living stress. You can take it for 10 years but you can’t take it for 15 years. Sakubulali stress.

Mpofu found this funny, particularly in light of the fact that Mantashe’s boss of the past 10 years, President Jacob Zuma, has always appeared largely immune to stress or care, despite being dogged by scandal after scandal.

He quipped that Zuma might be wondering “How on earth did Gwede catch that whiteman’s disease?” known as stress.

Mpofu was in the news this week as the senior counsel to the United Democratic Movement in its request to the Constitutional Court to rule that an upcoming motion of no confidence vote in Zuma be conducted by secret ballot to allow ANC MPs to “vote with their conscience” and not be intimidated by the ANC leadership.

Mantashe indicated on Friday that if ANC MPs could vote against their own party, he would consider it a travesty of political principle.