ANC Limpopo: Stan Mathabatha described as the most powerful, feared politician

ANC Limpopo boss Chupu Stan Mathabatha still commands power in the province despite his Nasrec blunders on leadership preferences.

Sopa

Mathabatha delivered the State of the Province Address (Sopa) and the Limpopo leg of the January 8 Statement last month – proving to Doubting Thomases that he is still the only bull in the kraal.

He came under serious attack after he publicly ditched the province at the 11th hour at the ANC elective conference in December when he threw his weight behind former health minister Zweli Mkhize for party president.

READ MORE: Limpopo Sopa: Mathabatha speaks of progress but EFF blasts ‘false promises’

Limpopo had agreed in principle it would support Cyril Ramaphosa’s second term as ANC president. Soon after the hotly contested conference that saw Ramaphosa’s faction triumph, Mathabatha came under serious attack from party members in Limpopo, who branded him a sellout.

Some of his political foes were quick to call for his resignation while a faction of his die-hard supporters in the PEC promised to fight until the last drop of their blood to protect him.

‘Calm’

During a PEC meeting last Friday, Mathabatha pleaded for calm within the party post-Nasrec. He warned that factions within the Limpopo ANC were likely to divide the party or, worse, kill the organisation for good.

“We condemn with the strongest possible terms the ill-discipline displayed and directed at the provincial chair, during the Limpopo edition of the ANC 111th anniversary and January 8th, held at the Ga-Masemola Stadium,” said ANC provincial secretary Reuben Madadzhe on Monday.

The Citizen understands that Mathabatha was booed by angry members during the rally. Those who booed him labelled the province’s number one a betrayer and an unreliable and untrustworthy leader.

But the Limpopo PEC called their behaviour wayward and unANC.

“The PEC calls upon all ANC members to desist from acts of ill discipline as this has the potential to divide the party” said the PEC in a statement.

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‘Most powerful’

But others in Limpopo described Mathabatha as the most powerful and feared politician in the province.

They praised him for having delivered both the Sopa and the ANC anniversary despite threats of boycotts. For the Limpopo ANC, the unity of the organisation surpasses everything and for Mathabatha, every ANC member must always rally behind the elected leadership, despite their leadership differences before elections.