The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thembi Nkadimeng, is set to walk down the aisle once again.
Sunday World can reveal that Nkadimeng is a bride-to-be after she said yes to the proposal by her partner, Matome Ralebipi, last month.
The couple’s engagement happened at the luxurious Estate d’Afrique at Proclamation Hill in Haartbeespoort, North West province.
According to close friends, Ralebipi caught Nkadimeng and close friends by surprise when he popped the big question and asked her to marry him during her 51st birthday celebration on February 10.
“This is a case of second time lucky for both of them because Matome is a divorcee and so is Thembi. The two met through work a while ago, and have been dating for some time,” a source said.
Nkadimeng was previously married to politician Chipjane Clifton Tito Nkadimeng until 2019. Ralepibi was married to Kgolesego Tlou and dissolved his union in 2017 through a divorce.
“The two (Thembi and Matome) met through work. Matome holds positions in a number of boards and is a chairperson at the Limpopo Roads Agency. He works with Thembi’s daughter Thato, who is a spokesperson at the agency. So they are quite close,” the source added.
The date and venue of the much-anticipated wedding is still to be set.
In pictures taken at the engagement party, Nkadimeng appeared ecstatic while clad in a white dress, while Ralebipi stood next to her in a white shirt and blue pants.
The lovebird’s engagement happened in a private ceremony attended by family and close friends of the couple, including outgoing premier of Limpopo, Chupu Stanley Mathabatha, who has been friends with Ralebipi for over 10 years.
Ralebipi is a known big shot in the Limpopo social, business and political circles. In addition to his role as a board chairperson of Limpopo Roads Agency, he is also the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone’s deputy chairperson.
He is also the deputy chairperson of the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority’s council.
When contacted for comment, Ralebipi giggled and said: “When did someone getting engaged ever become such a big story? When you guys got engaged did we write a story? I am out of the country right now. I can’t really talk.”
Nkadimeng did not answer her phone.
Her spokesperson, Tshekiso Machike, said: “I am at a very compromised position right now. I can’t talk please send me questions.”
A set of questions was sent to Machike but he did not respond to them by time of going to print.
Nkadimeng began her own political life in student politics as a member of Cosas, and later the South African Student Congress.
