Kaobitsa Abel Bushy Maape (born 1956 or 1957) is a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist who has been the 7th

Premier of the North West The Premier of North West is the head of government of the North West province of South Africa. The current Premier of the North West is Bushy Maape, a member of the African National Congress, who was elected premier in September 2021 after the ...

and a member of the

North West Provincial Legislature The North West Provincial Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of North West (South Africa), North West. It is unicameral in its composition, and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the memb ...

since September 2021. Maape is a member of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

and a former Robben Island prisoner.

Early life and education

Maape earned a

Bachelors of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in psychology and economics from the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

which he completed while imprisoned on

Robben Island Robben Island ( af, Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrik ...

. He also holds an honours degree in developmental studies and an honours degree in economics from the

University of the Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is a public research university in Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only. Other un ...

. He is currently studying for a Master of Management in the field of governance at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

Career

Maape was recruited into the underground structures of the

while enrolled at the Hebron Training College. He commanded the ANC's underground Kgalagadi Machinery. He was also principal of the Kuruman Middle School. In February 1986 Maape was convicted of propagating the communist aims of the ANC, though acquitted of the main terrorism charge and imprisoned at

. He was one of the first six ANC prisoners released from Robben Island following president

F.W. de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk (, , 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994 to 1996 in the democratic government. As South A ...

's decision to release political prisoners. Maape served as chairperson of the ANC's Kgalagadi region following the end of apartheid in the 1990s. He was later the director: RDP as well as the chief director: strategic planning and development unit in the Office of the Premier of the North West. Maape served on the Ministerial Advisory Committee of the Department of Provincial and Local Government and was a member of the Municipal Demarcation Board from the North West Province.

North West Premiership

In June 2021, the National Working Committee of the ANC instructed the Interim Provincial Committee (IPC) of the ANC in the North West to submit them the names of three people to replace

Job Mokgoro Tebogo Job Mokgoro (born 15 May 1948) is a South African politician and academic who served as the 6th Premier of North West from June 2018 until his resignation in August 2021. He was a Member of the North West Provincial Legislature during that ...

as premier by the end of the week. This instruction came after Mokgoro had refused to resign as premier earlier in the year after he was accused of being responsible for the poor state of local municipalities in the province. He had a fallout with the ANC IPC, which accused him of ignoring instructions. On 17 August 2021, the IPC's coordinator Hlumani Chauke announced Maape as the party's candidate to replace Mokgoro as premier. Maape was selected over two other potential candidates for premier: the speaker of the provincial legislature

Sussana Dantjie Sussana Rebecca Dantjie (née Tsebe) is a South African politician who has been serving as the Speaker of the North West Provincial Legislature since May 2014. She was a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa from May 2009 to May 2014. D ...

and the finance

member of the executive council In South Africa, the Executive Council of a province is the cabinet of the provincial government. The Executive Council consists of the Premier and five to ten other members,''Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996'', Chapter 6: "Pro ...

Motlalepula Rosho Motlalepula Ziphora Rosho is a South African politician. A member of the African National Congress, she was elected deputy speaker of the North West Provincial Legislature in 2010. In 2012 she was appointed as the Member of the Executive Council ...

. Maape is reportedly seen as a compromise candidate to appease party factions and was expected to be sworn in as a member of the provincial legislature and premier later in the week, however, on 20 August 2021, it was reported that none of the 21 ANC Members of the Provincial Legislature, including Mokgoro, had offered to resign their seats in the legislature. Mokgoro officially resigned as premier on 26 August and Finance MEC

was sworn in as acting premier. Mokgoro did not resign as a member of the provincial legislature on that day. An ANC MPL needed to resign in order for Maape to be sworn in as a member of the provincial legislature and then be elected premier. Mokgoro resigned as an MPL on 27 August. Maape was sworn in as a member of the provincial legislature on 1 September. During a full sitting of the North West Provincial Legislature on 7 September 2021, Maape was elected as premier, despite a challenge from the DA's

Winston Rabotapi Mponeng Winston Rabotapi is a South African politician of the Democratic Alliance (DA). He has been serving as the party's caucus leader in the North West Provincial Legislature since 2019. He previously served as a Member of the National Assem ...

. Maape received 21 votes compared to Rabotapi's 5 votes. He was sworn in later that day.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maape, Bushy Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Anti-apartheid activists African National Congress politicians 21st-century South African politicians Members of the North West Provincial Legislature Premiers of North West (South African province)