Pretoria - Questions swirled on Thursday at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria, about the whereabouts of Deputy President David Mabuza, who was glaringly absent from the critical two-day cabinet lekgotla chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
On Thursday, Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele confirmed that South Africa’s second in command was not sitting next to Ramaphosa at the cabinet lekgotla, feeding into recent speculation and media reports of Mabuza’s resignation.
However, Gungubele treading carefully, dispelled the rumours and insisted that Mabuza had not gone AWOL. He said the deputy president had officially communicated to Ramaphosa the reasons for his absence.
“The deputy president has submitted his apology to the president. It’s only the president who can do an evaluation of that, but if he is sick, we cannot determine the frequency and the number of times he gets sick,” Gungubele told reporters in a televised interview.
It has now emerged that Mabuza was not excused from the cabinet lekgotla because of ill health, but because the former Mpumalanga premier was dealing with a bereavement in his family.
The Office of the Deputy President issued a terse statement, stating that Mabuza had lost his brother and taken time off from his government duties.
“Deputy President David Mabuza has tendered his apology for the Cabinet Lekgotla taking place from 2-3 February 2023 due to a family bereavement.
“The Deputy President lost his brother and is engaged with preparations for the funeral,” the Office of the Deputy President told journalists.
His office has remained mum on the rumours that Mabuza had resigned from his plum government post.
IOL previously reported that the rumours had been circulating on social media following weeks of speculation about what would happen to Mabuza, after he declined nomination to contest his position as ANC’s second in command at the party’s elective conference in December.
Mabuza, affectionately referred to as “The Cat” by his legion of followers, surprised many when he showed no interest in gunning for any of the Top 7 positions the party had to offer.
He was previously touted as the man who would take over from Ramaphosa.
However, speculation that he would surprise many by emerging president was dealt a blow at the Nasrec showdown, where former treasurer-general of the party, Paul Mashatile took over from him.
IOL