Sello Dithebe Explained

Party:	African National Congress
Office1:	Member of the National Assembly
Termstart1:	2 September 2005
Termend1:	May 2009
Citizenship:	South Africa
Termend2:	April 2004
Termstart2:	1 May 2000

Sello Leon Dithebe is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 2000 to 2004 and from 2005 to 2009. He is a former Provincial Secretary of the ANC's Free State branch and in 2023 was appointed as spokesman to the Premier of the Free State, Mxolisi Dukwana.

Political career

Dithebe was Provincial Secretary of the ANC's Free State branch from 1997 to 1998 under Provincial Chairperson Zingile Dingani.^[1] He was sworn into the National Assembly for the first time on 1 May 2000, filling a casual vacancy in an ANC seat.^[2] He was not initially re-elected at the end of the legislative term in 2004, but he returned to the assembly on 2 September 2005, filling another casual vacancy.^[3]

During his second term in the National Assembly, in 2008, Dithebe clashed with ANC Provincial Chairperson Ace Magashule after he and another ANC politician, Vax Mayekiso, took the Free State ANC to court, alleging that there had been electoral irregularities in party elective conferences which had the effect of blocking Magashule's opponents from regional leadership positions.^[4] Dithebe said that he had been blocked from the leadership of the Lejweleputswa regional branch.^[5] Both he and Mayekiso were suspended from party activities on the grounds that their involvement in the court applications transgressed the party's rules, and they also sought to challenge their suspensions in court.^{[6] [7]}

In 2018, Dithebe was again closely involved in an unsuccessful court challenge that attempted to block that year's ANC provincial elective conference, again alleging irregularities by Magashule's supporters.^{[8] [9]} He made a political comeback in January 2023 when he was elected to the Provincial Executive Committee of the Free State ANC.^[10] He was subsequently appointed as spokesman to Mxolisi Dukwana, the newly elected ANC Provincial Chairperson after Dukwana took office as Premier of the Free State the following month.^[11]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 1997-12-17 . 50th National Conference: Report of the Secretary General . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20221128234926/https://www.anc1912.org.za/50th-national-conference-report-of-the-secretary-general-provincial-reports/ . 28 November 2022 . 29 November 2022 . African National Congress .
2. Web site: 2002-06-02 . The National Assembly List of Resinations and Nominations . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20020602095739/http://parliament.gov.za/na/resign.htm . 2 June 2002 . 2023-04-02 . Parliament of South Africa.
3. Web site: 2009-01-15 . National Assembly Members . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090514071402/http://www.pmg.org.za/parlinfo/nalist#_ftnref87 . 14 May 2009 . 2023-04-08 . Parliamentary Monitoring Group.
4. Web site: 2008-06-06 . ANC infighting lands Ace in court . 2023-04-11 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
5. Web site: 2008-03-27 . ANC regions settle scores . 2023-04-11 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
6. News: 9 June 2008 . New court battle for FState ANC leadership . IOL . 11 April 2023.
7. Web site: 21 July 2008 . Magashule looks set for FS seat . 2023-04-11 . News24 . en-US.
8. Web site: Nicolson . Greg . 2018-03-05 . Magashule holds the Aces: He's still the 'hidden hand' in the Free State, say ANC members . 2023-04-11 . Daily Maverick . en.
9. Web site: 2018-03-09 . Free State ANC branches rattle elective conference . 2023-04-11 . The Mail & Guardian . en-ZA.
10. Web site: 2023-01-29 . Ntombela out, Dukwana to take over . 2023-04-11 . Sunday World . en-ZA.
11. Web site: Dlodlo . Cathy . 2023-03-23 . Fire rips through Free State premier's house, causes millions in damage . 2023-04-11 . Daily Maverick . en.