Kay Sexwale
There’s a particular discomfort that grips certain types of racists when a black leader that cannot be easily categorised, controlled or contained emerges. Deputy President Paul Mashatile clearly represents this existential threat to South Africa’s biased white media, and the barrage of negative media coverage from certain outlets reveals far more about their anxieties than it does about Mashatile’s actual record.
What we’re witnessing is not mere political journalism or honest analysis, but a coordinated propaganda campaign.
The pattern has become predictable: take a black leader who has grown through the ranks with strong grassroots support, rubbish their achievements, amplify negative, unverified allegations peddled by political rivals, and package it all as “objective analysis”. This same playbook was used against leaders from Mandela to Malema, and now Mashatile’s is on their radar.
The lack of depth in these attacks becomes obvious when one examines Mashatile’s actual trajectory. This is a man who cut his teeth in the trenches of Alexandra’s liberation struggles, was imprisoned by the apartheid regime for his activism, and rose through ANC structures, not through patronage but through demonstrated organisational ability. His various leadership roles from MEC in various portfolios and premier in Africa’s powerhouse province of Gauteng saw concrete advances in infrastructure, housing and economic development.
His tenure as both deputy minister and minister of arts and culture was marked by impactful work in nation-building and social cohesion. Far from being a “nothing job” as critics claim, he used the portfolio to elevate marginalised voices, protect South Africa’s cultural heritage, and lay the groundwork for the creative economy.
During this period, we saw increased funding for community arts programmes, the preservation of liberation struggle archives, and strategic partnerships that positioned South African arts globally. These achievements revealed his appreciation of culture as both a social good and an economic driver.
He demonstrated his ability to extract value from any portfolio, however under-resourced, through pragmatic leadership focused on tangible outcomes rather than media spectacle.
All this is conveniently erased out of the current narrative.
What makes Mashatile’s detractors lose sleep at the prospect of his future presidency is not any alleged lack of substance, but rather the very substance he undeniably possesses. He represents that most dangerous of things in the eyes of white, right-wing media: a clear-minded, politically astute black leader who understands power dynamics, commands loyalty within his structures, and is not easily swayed by personalised media attacks or elite opinion. Worse still, his roots in Alexandra’s struggle politics make him immune to the usual tactics of co-option or intimidation.
The racial undertones of this campaign are clear. When white leaders build political networks, it’s called “strategic alliances”. When Mashatile does the same, it’s dismissed as sinister “Alex Mafia” politics. When DA officials oversee failed municipalities, it’s framed as well-intentioned mismanagement.
When Mashatile delivers on infrastructure projects, it is dismissed as inheriting others’ work. This hypocrisy reveals a sinister truth about who this media considers legitimate leaders.
At its core, this isn’t really about Mashatile the individual. It’s about the fear of losing the grip of certain power structures and gate-keeping mechanisms in our politics, with puppet leaders dancing to the tune of white capital. The deputy president’s sin, in the eyes of these sponsored hacks, is that he refuses to perform the expected role of either the “angry radical” or the “pliable moderate”. He’s simply himself: a seasoned political operator with deep grassroots credentials and a clear vision for equalising South Africa.
As we move closer to the ANC’s 2025 national general council and its 2027 elective conference, we must recognise these media theatrics for what they are. The attempt to proactively attempt to disqualify certain leaders from consideration through manufactured narratives is not just dishonest journalism or analysis, it is an assault on the ANC’s democratic process itself.
Mashatile’s record deserves proper scrutiny like any other contender, but scrutiny free from the racialised frameworks and bad faith arguments that have come to characterise too much of our political coverage.
ANC members will ultimately decide who leads them, not media houses with thinly veiled agendas. And if history has taught us anything, it is that no amount of elite anxiety has ever stopped the march of authentic leadership when its time has come.
- Sexwale is an ANC member in good standing and former ANC Gauteng communications strategist during Mashatile’s chairmanship
