Boy Mamabolo

Jacob Boy Mamabolo is a South African politician from Limpopo who serves as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa for the ruling African National Congress (ANC). He was elected to Parliament in the 2019 general election and took office as an MP on 22 May 2019.

The Honourable

Boy Mamabolo

MP
Member of the National Assembly of South Africa
Assumed office
22 May 2019
Personal details
Born
Jacob Boy Mamabolo

Masakaneng, Seshego, Transvaal Province, South Africa
NationalitySouth African
Political partyAfrican National Congress
OccupationMember of Parliament
ProfessionPolitician
CommitteesPortfolio Committee on Sports, Arts and Culture
Standing Committee on Auditor-General

Early life

Mamabolo hails from Masakeng, Seshego.[1] He and current Economic Freedom Fighters president Julius Malema grew up in the same community and both became politically involved in the same organisations. Both were members of the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) and the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). He was the COSAS provincial secretary when Malema was the organisation's national president.[1] Their friendship ended while they were active in the ANCYL.[1] Mamabolo was a supporter of former ANC president Jacob Zuma while Malema turned on Zuma.

Parliamentary career

Mamabolo placed second on the ANC's regional list for the 2019 general election. He was elected an MP and assumed the position on 22 May 2019. He was assigned to serve on both the Portfolio Committee on Sports, Arts and Culture and the Standing Committee on the Auditor-General.

Incidents

When Malema was suspended as youth league president in 2011, Mamabolo burnt a mock coffin in celebration. In 2013, he was involved in a court battle with Malema after he sent him a message threatening to exhume Malema's mother remains and take it to his grandmother's house.[2] In the same year, Mamabolo was arrested for fraud relating to his tenure as Limpopo Geographical Names Committee chairperson.[3]

2020 State of the Nation Address

EFF MPs disrupted the 2020 annual State of the Nation Address. Mamabolo rose on a point of order and said:

Speaker, we’ve been abused for too long, we cannot be abused in the same manner that Mantwa [Malema’s spouse] is being abused by honourable Malema… nna le lelena re dithaka (English: "we are peers"), let’s leave elderly people and go engage outside.[4]

In the subsequent debate, he once again accused Malema of domestic abuse.[5][6] Malema and his spouse consequently approached the Limpopo High Court and filed lawsuits of R1 million each, citing defamation.[7][8][9] The two parties reached an out of court agreement wherein Mamabolo apologised, saying his utterances were "uncalled for".[10][11]

References
  1. Mahlangu, Isaac (14 February 2020). "Malema and Mamabolo's 'Seshego Derby' takes centre stage in SONA chaos". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  2. "Malema: Bringing up my dead mother is distasteful". Mail & Guardian. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  3. "Malema foe arrested for fraud". IOL. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  4. Meyer, Dan (19 February 2020). "Boy Mamabolo vs Julius Malema: When friends become enemies". The South African. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  5. Gerber, Jan (18 February 2020). "Domestic abuse claims fly as Malema's SONA debate speech marred by shouting match". News24. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  6. "MPs slammed for using gender-based violence as a political football". IOL. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  7. Madia, Tshidi (18 February 2020). "Malema to sue ANC MP Boy Mamabolo over domestic abuse claims". News24. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  8. "Malema's wife Mantoa sues Boy Mamabolo for R1m over allegations of abuse". The Citizen. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  9. Makhetha, Tankiso (19 February 2020). "Boy Mamabolo's legal woes increase as Mantoa Malema sues". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  10. Molefe, Russell (4 March 2020). "Julius Malema, Boy Mamabolo reach out-of-court settlement over domestic abuse claims". News24. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  11. Sidimba, Loyiso (6 March 2020). "Mamabolo admits claiming Julius Malema abused his wife was 'uncalled for'". IOL. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
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