Solly Afrika Mapaila is a South African politician who is the incumbent General Secretary of the South African Communist Party, he was elected unopposed on 15 July 2022 in his current position at the SACP National Congress.
Solly Mapaila was appointed as the Second Deputy General Secretary of the
South African Communist Party
The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...
in 2012.
Activism
Mapaila was a member of
Umkhonto weSizwe and operated outside of South Africa prior to 1994.
[ On returning to South Africa in 1994 he was integrated into the ]South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...
and stationed at Thaba Tshwane.[
]
Work
He is a forceful and determined critic of corruption within 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 the South African government, and of the leadership of former South African president Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...
. A group of president Zuma supporters threatened to open criminal charges against him if he continued to say that president is corrupt.
Mapaila directly questioned the purported intelligence report titled "Operation Checkmate" used by President Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...
to fire the former Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan
Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan (born 12 April 1949) is a politician and anti-apartheid activist who has held various ministerial posts in the Cabinet of South Africa. He served as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017, ...
. He led calls from within the Tripartite Alliance
The Tripartite Alliance is an alliance between the African National Congress (ANC), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP). The ANC holds a majority in the South African parliament, while ...
for the resignation of President Jacob Zuma
Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...
.
Mapaila was considered a leading candidate to succeed Blade Nzimande
Bonginkosi Emmanuel "Blade" Nzimande (born 14 April 1958 in Edendale near Pietermaritzburg) is a South African politician, sociologist, philosopher, educator, anti-apartheid activist and Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology. H ...
as general secretary of the SACP for a number of years and was ultimately elected to this position in 2022.
References
Living people
People from Msunduzi Local Municipality
South African Communist Party politicians
African National Congress politicians
Year of birth missing (living people)
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