William Mothipa Madisha is a South African

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

and politician. Madisha is the former President of both the

Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions ...

(from 1999 to 2008) and the

South African Democratic Teachers Union The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) is the largest trade union for teachers in South Africa. It is allied to the African National Congress and is an affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). History The ...

(from 1996 to 2008). Madisha grew up in

Atteridgeville Atteridgeville is a township located to the west of Pretoria, South Africa. It is located to the east of Saulsville, to the west of West Park; to the north of Laudium and to the south of Lotus Gardens. The settlement was established in 1939, and ...

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, South Africa, where he was a member of the United Democratic Front. He studied teaching at

Transvaal College of Education Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

. Madisha was fired from his position as COSATU president and expelled from the organisation on 27 February 2008; he was also fired from SADTU on 29 July 2008. He had been under suspension since the second half of 2007 while a probe into the disappearance of a large cash donation was being carried out by COSATU; he had received the suspension for making public allegations concerning the estimated R500,000 donation from businessman Charles Modise to 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 ...

. He also was expelled from the SACP's central committee. A noted dissenter from the predominant opinion of COSATU, he had publicly backed

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

for the presidency at 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 ...

's 2007 national conference in

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Province ...

while the trade union federation had adopted a resolution backing

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 ...

. He then backed the Congress of the People (COPE) breakaway party formed by

Mosiuoa Lekota Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick Lekota (born 13 August 1948) is a South African politician, who currently serves as the President and Leader of the Congress of the People since 16 December 2008. Previously as a member of the African National Congress, ...

, the former defence minister in Mbeki's second government. Madisha was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

in the

2009 Elections The following elections occurred in the year 2009. * Electoral calendar 2009 * 2009 United Nations Security Council election Caribbean * 2009 Antiguan general election * 2009 Aruban general election * 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendu ...

as a COPE MP. In August 2022, Madisha, by then deputy president of the party, announced that leader

had been suspended. Lekota subsequently stated that his suspension was illegitimate, as Madisha, along with secretary for communications Dennis Bloem and secretary for elections Mzwandile Hleko had themselves been suspended. A press conference called by Lekota descended into a fistfight between the rival factions.

References

External links

Biography
South African trade unionists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Members of the National Assembly of South Africa {{SouthAfrica-trade-union-stub