Piet Mathebe

Piet Mohlamme Mathebe (16 January 1961 – 24 August 2020) was a South African politician and the traditional leader of Limpopo's Bantwane tribe. Known in the later capacity as Mohlamme III, he led the tribal authority from 1992 until his death in 2020.

Piet Mathebe
Member of the National Assembly
In office
9 May 1994 – 1 October 2012
Personal details
Born
Piet Mohlamme Mathebe

(1961-01-16)16 January 1961
Died24 August 2020(2020-08-24) (aged 59)
Middelburg, Mpumalanga
CitizenshipSouth Africa
Political partyAfrican National Congress
Residence(s)Moutse, Limpopo
Alma materUniversity of the North

Mathebe was also renowned as a supporter of the African National Congress (ANC), which he joined during apartheid. He was recruited into an underground cell of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in the Northern Transvaal in 1987 and, after receiving military training abroad, he was commander of his own cell from 1987.

After the end of apartheid, he represented the ANC in the National Assembly from 1994 to 2012. Thereafter he served as South African High Commissioner to Zambia from 2012 to 2014 and then as a special adviser to Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha from 2014 until his death.

Early life and activism

Mathebe was born on 16 January 1961.[1] He became involved in youth activism against apartheid as a teenager.[2]

In 1987, during the last year of his undergraduate studies at the University of the North,[3] Mathebe joined the underground of the ANC, which at the time was banned by the apartheid government.[4] He received informal military training from Jerome Maake and became a member of Maake's MK unit, which operated in the Moutse area of the Northern Transvaal.[4] At the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Mathebe sought and received amnesty for his participation in several of the unit's operations in 1987, including the murder of two policemen in an ambush, the planting of a bomb at Kwaggafontein police station, and the planting of a limpet mine at a magistrate's court in Moutse.[5]

At the end of 1987, Mathebe left South Africa to receive formal MK military training in Angola.[4] He returned to South Africa in 1989 and became the commander of a new MK unit named after trade unionist Peter Nchabeleng.[2][3] In 1992,[4] he took office as traditional leader (kgoshi) of the Bantwane, a Sotho-Tswana tribe in the Northern Transvaal.[3] The tribal authority is based in present-day Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality on the Limpopo–Mpumalanga border.

Post-apartheid political career

In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Mathebe was elected to represent the ANC in the National Assembly.[6][7] He served three-and-a-half terms in his seat before he retired on 1 October 2012.[8] He was a backbencher in the assembly and represented the Mpumalanga constituency until 2009,[1][9] when he was elected to represent the Limpopo constituency.

Mathebe left Parliament in 2012 in order to join the diplomatic service, and he served as South African High Commissioner to Zambia from 2012 to 2014.[10] Upon his return to South Africa in 2014, Mathebe was appointed as special advisor to Stan Mathabatha, the Premier of Limpopo. He advised Mathabatha on traditional affairs and economic development.[3] He remained in the latter position until his death in 2020.[10][11]

Personal life and death

Mathebe had several children.[10] He died on 24 August 2020 in a hospital in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, following a short illness.[3][12]

President Cyril Ramaphosa granted him a special official provincial funeral,[2] which was held in Moutse and addressed by Premier Mathabatha.[10]

References
  1. "General Notice: Notice 1319 of 1999 – Electoral Commission: Representatives Elected to the Various Legislatures" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 408, no. 20203. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. "President Ramaphosa declares Special Official Funerals for three distinguished South Africans". The Presidency. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  3. "Bantwane mourns the passing of Kgoshi Mathebe" (PDF). Sekhukhune Dispatch. 28 August 2020. p. 1. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  4. "Amnesty Hearings: Piet Mohlamme Mathebe". Truth Commission Special Report. 29 February 2000. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  5. "Application in terms of Section 18 of the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act No. 34 of 1995". Department of Justice. 2000. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  6. South Africa: Campaign and Election Report April 26–29, 1994. International Republican Institute. 1994. Retrieved 13 April 2023 – via Yumpu.
  7. "Parliament's presiding officers saddened by passing-on of Kgosi Piet Mathebe". Parliament of South Africa. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  8. "Piet Mohlamme Mathebe". People's Assembly. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  9. "General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 466, no. 2677. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 20 April 2004. pp. 4–95. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  10. "Kgosi Mathebe described as selfless leader". SABC News. 30 August 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  11. "Funeral service for Kgosi Mathebe to take place on Sunday". SABC News. 30 August 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  12. "Ramaphosa declares official state funerals for three 'dedicated' South Africans". Sunday Times. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.