Mandisa Mashego confirms resignation from powerful positions in the EFF, remains party member

Mandisa Mashego. Picture: Nhlanhla Phillips/African News Agency(ANA)

Mandisa Mashego. Picture: Nhlanhla Phillips/African News Agency(ANA)

Published Apr 2, 2020

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Johannesburg - Mandisa Mashego has confirmed that she has resigned as the chairperson of the EFF in Gauteng and as the head of the EFF caucus at the Gauteng provincial legislature.

Mashego's confirmation follows months of speculation in which the EFF had denied reports of her resignation.

While speaking to Power FM on Thursday, Mashego confirmed that she had resigned from both positions she held in the provincial legislature and as the chairperson of the EFF in Gauteng. She resigned and handed in her resignation letters to the party in February and has so far served a two months’ notice.

"The 31 of March was my last day at the provincial legislature. It was a two months’ notice period," she said.  

She confirmed that she will remain a member of the EFF.

Speculation surrounding Mashego's resignation was focused on various factors, one of these was her loss at the EFF elective conference in December. She was contesting the position of secretary-general in a particular slate. She lost out to Marshall Dlamini.

There were also rumours that her relationship with EFF leader Julius Malema was fractured. Malema had tweeted former Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba who is forming a political party; “I’m told one or two of my provincial chairpersons; one from the inland province and one from the coastal province are also speaking to you. Please speed up the process."

This tweet had apparently enraged Mashego. When asked about it on Power FM Mashego said it was bizarre and she could not understand why she had to explain people she speaks to. She denied that Mashaba had approached her to join "The People's Dialogue".

"I did not ask him (Malema) about it, I was also surprised. I have been on the attack before Julius tweeted about the two chairpersons. I have taken insults and have taken it on my chin. I do not know what made him (Malema) say that because I had been working with Mashaba for a while. I cannot be expected to explain who I speak to," Mashego said.

Mashego said her reason for stepping down from leadership roles in the EFF was long in the making as she's faced health issues and a desire to continue her activism which clashed with EFF policy.

"There are some pursuits that I want to be part of like fighting for the death penalty and that falls outside the constitution of the EFF. There are many reasons like my health which has been a problem for the past three years, and I have not spoken about it as it is my private matter. My activism needs to broaden which I could not do within the EFF."

Mashego said she had attempted to resign in 2016 but was talked out of the decision. This time around there were no attempts to persuade her not to resign, Mashego said.

"I do not place a lot of expectations on people in life, that's just the person I am."

Mashego said she was not bitter about losing out in the EFF's elective conference. She, however, criticised the slate politics which have become part of electing leaders in political parties in the country, especially in the ANC and has been inherited by the EFF. 

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