Former ANC Mpumalanga treasurer Mandla Msibi has walked away from the party, declaring, “I have served” the party, just weeks after a provincial conference that effectively erased him from its consolidated leadership map.
Msibi confirmed his resignation to Sunday World on Tuesday night, bringing to an abrupt end a political career built on grassroots mobilisation and fierce loyalty to the party.
“It is true that I’ve resigned,” he said. Pressed on his reasons, Msibi offered little but enough to signal finality. “I have served my part.”
His exit follows a bruising outcome at the ANC’s 14th provincial conference in Mbombela, where the leadership slate led by provincial chairperson Mandla Ndlovu was returned largely uncontested, with Msibi emerging as the only senior figure pushed out of the moving “Top 5” train.
His absence from the nomination list, and his failure to gather enough support from the floor to force a contest, confirmed what insiders had already read as a coordinated political sidelining.
The conference, presented publicly as a triumph of unity, quietly closed ranks around a leadership bloc that has been steadily consolidating power since the demise of former deputy president David Mabuza.
Msibi, widely considered one of the last visible loyalists of Mabuza’s political tradition, appeared out of step with that shift.
Charged with murder
His troubles with the ANC leadership stretch back to October 2021, when he was removed as MEC for agriculture, land reform, and environmental affairs after being charged with two counts of murder.
The National Prosecuting Authority later provisionally withdrew the charges due to lack of evidence.
By then, however, the political damage had already taken root.
He had been forced to step aside under the ANC’s integrity rule, the same policy that led to the political downfall of former secretary-general Ace Magashule, who has since formed his own political party.
Msibi’s standing within the party deteriorated further when he was suspended for three years, with two years suspended conditionally, following internal disciplinary processes linked to allegations that he attempted to disrupt ANC January 8 celebrations in Mbombela in 2024.
Although he later returned to his position, the relationship between him and the provincial leadership never fully recovered.
The events at the Mbombela conference appear to have sealed his fate. His resignation now removes one of the ANC’s most effective campaign mobilisers in Mpumalanga, a figure long credited with pulling crowds and consolidating support during election periods.
But his political future remains uncertain.
Out in the cold
While he retains links to the embattled SACP and has been associated with formations eyeing the 2026 local government elections, insiders say his influence may prove difficult to replicate outside the ANC’s machinery.
While those who revere his leadership skill believe he could re-emerge in a different political home, others argue the opposite.
Without the ANC brand that amplified his voice, they say, Msibi may struggle to command the same numbers that once responded to him as one of the province’s most recognisable campaigners.
A man once central to the ANC’s electoral engine in Mpumalanga has left the building. Unlike his mentor (Mabuza), who died in July 2025, Mbisi is still alive and recognised.
When contacted for comment on the developments around Msibi’s resignation, ANC Mpumalanga spokesperson Sasekani Manzini did not respond to media queries.
- Former ANC Mpumalanga treasurer Mandla Msibi has resigned from the party, ending a political career known for grassroots mobilisation and fierce loyalty.
- His resignation follows his exclusion from the ANC’s 14th provincial conference leadership slate, signaling a political sidelining amid a leadership consolidation.
- Msibi’s political troubles began in 2021 when he was charged with murder, leading to his removal as MEC and subsequent suspension under the ANC’s integrity rules.
- Despite returning to his position, his relationship with ANC provincial leadership deteriorated, culminating in his exclusion from the recent conference and eventual resignation.
- While Msibi maintains ties to other political formations, his influence outside the ANC is uncertain, and his ability to mobilize support without the party’s backing remains doubtful.
Former ANC
Msibi confirmed his resignation to
“It is true that I’ve resigned,” he said. Pressed on his reasons, Msibi offered little but enough to signal finality. “I have served my part.”
His exit follows a bruising outcome at the ANC’s 14th provincial conference in
His absence from the nomination list, and his failure to gather enough support from the floor to force a contest, confirmed what insiders had already read as a coordinated political sidelining.
Msibi, widely considered one of the last visible loyalists of Mabuza’s political tradition, appeared out of step with that shift.
His troubles with the ANC leadership stretch back to October 2021, when he was removed as MEC for agriculture, land reform, and environmental affairs after being charged with two counts of murder.
By then, however, the political damage had already taken root.
He had been forced to step aside under the ANC’s integrity rule, the same policy that led to the political downfall of former secretary-general Ace
Msibi’s standing within the party deteriorated further when he was suspended for three years, with two years suspended conditionally, following internal disciplinary processes linked to allegations that he attempted to disrupt ANC January 8 celebrations in
But his political future remains uncertain.
While he retains links to the embattled SACP and has been associated with formations eyeing the 2026 local government elections, insiders say his influence may prove difficult to replicate outside the ANC’s machinery.
While those who revere his leadership skill believe he could re-emerge in a different political home, others argue the opposite.
A man once central to the ANC’s electoral engine in
When contacted for comment on the developments around Msibi's resignation, ANC
