David Dabede Mabuza: A shrewd leader and political strategist

THE sad news about the passing of David Dabede Mabuza, affectionately known as “DD”, took many South Africans by surprise. Surely, those who are close to him would have known about his disappearance from the public eye. However, many South Africans thought that his disappearance was part of what he had been known for - being out of the limelight.

- PROF BHEKI MNGOMEZULU

Mabuza was not nicknamed “the cat” for nothing. He was a difficult person to understand. He seldom talked and was literally “an absentee deputy president” during his two terms after he was first appointed on February 27, 2018, and again on May 30, 2019.

The big question we must pose as we pen his obituary is: What legacy is Mabuza bequeathing to the nation and the world? Importantly, what will the ANC, as his political home, indeed remember him for?

These questions are not as simple as they appear at first glance. Part of the reason is that Mabuza knew how to manoeuvre politics, when to act and how. To understand his politics, we must trace his historical background, albeit briefly.

Mabuza was born on August 1960 in present-day Mpumalanga province and passed away on July 3, 2025. After completing his high school education, he obtained his National Teachers Certificate at Mgwenya College in Mpumalanga in 1985 before obtaining his BA degree at the University of South Africa (Unisa) in 1989. What is noticeable is that Mabuza majored in psychology. This explains some of his political acumen.