The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) mourns the passing of former Deputy President David Dabede “DD” Mabuza.  The Federation offers its deepest sympathies to the family, friends, comrades and colleagues of comrade DD Mabuza.

Whilst Deputy President Mabuza sadly departed at a youthful 64 years of age, he led a full life.  Comrade DD dedicated his time on earth in service of the people, not only in his home communities and the broader Mpumalanga Province, but the entire nation.

Comrade Mabuza’s political consciousness was sparked by his humble origins in the most rural communities of Hazyview in the then Eastern Transvaal, where his parents were small farmers.  This journey led him as a young man to become a student activist during the darkest days of apartheid in the 1970s and 1980s.

Deputy President Mabuza was amongst the founding generation of teacher activists, then split amongst many different trade unions scattered across the country, and often along racial lines to form the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (SADTU), the first national non-racial teachers’ union and today the largest teachers’ union.  His experience as a teacher and principal made him a fitting choice as the first MEC for Education in Mpumalanga Province after the democratic breakthrough of 1994.

Comrade DD, alongside stalwarts like Mathews Phosa, Thabang Makwetla, Che Masilela raised the profile of Mpumalanga from the quiet Eastern Transvaal, to the land of the rising sun.

It is a sign of how far South Africa has come that a young man born in poverty stricken Phola, eMalahleni can rise to be an MEC, a Premier and a Deputy President.

History will remember DD as a humble leader, one who was not afraid to lead, to make difficult decisions, and to be led.  When South Africa was at the crossroads after the painful decade of state capture and corruption, then Premier Mabuza played a seminal role within the leadership collective of the African National Congress, to place it, the broader liberation movement and the nation firmly on the path of renewal. 

When the time came to hand the baton to the next generation, Deputy President Mabuza did not hesitate to do so humbly and always emphasising the importance of discipline.  He continued to play his role as a former Deputy President and an elder.  We are grateful not only for his decades of service but also that he was able to spend the last chapter of his life’s journey at home with his family, friends, and community.

Hamba kahle Mkhonto. 

Issued by COSATU

Matthew Parks (COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator)

Mobile: 082 785 0687

Email: matthew@cosatu.org.za