Accomplishment

  • Current Leader of Democratic Alliance (DA)
  • First Black Man to be elected DA Parliamentary Leader 2014 -2015
  • DA Deputy Federal Chair 2012 -2014
  • 2011 Johannesburg Mayoral candidate
  • Masters degree in Theology from Bangor University UK
  • Masters degree in Public and Development Management at the University of the Witwatersrand
  • Founded a Business Consulting Firm
  • Pastor and Elder at Liberty Church

Biography

Mmusi Maimane was born June 5, 1980, in Dobsonville, Soweto eldest of four siblings. His father, Simon, is of Tswana ethnicity and his mother, Ethel, is Xhosa, which is the same ethnicity as Nelson Mandela. He grew up speaking Xhosa.

One of the most interesting things about Maimane is that his wife is white. He and Natalie met at church and were able to connect because they had similar values. Maimane says that to say they did not notice race would be ingenuine. However, their bond transcends race. They were married in 2005. His daughter was born in 2011 and son in 2013.

In an interview, Maimane says that his wife as a beautiful heart and a passion for South Africa. Natalie Maimane told an Afrikaner report that she and her husband were best friends. Her husband’s speeches inspire her. She also says she loves his corny sense of humor, fashion sense, and the fact he is “hot.”

He has two children both by Natalie. He says race is a unique thing in his house. He says his daughter sees herself and Maimane as the same color and his son and wife as the same color. That is how her mind views race. Maimane says that he tries to expose his children to people from all walks of life. He takes his eldest daughter with him when visiting townships. He also makes strides to ensure his kids learn about their African heritage.

Many of Maimane’s political opponents use his interracial marriage to question his commitment to the race. Maimane says this is one of the biggest problems in his marriage. However, to the people that love them, they are simply a couple in love.

Liberty Church currently lists Maimane as a senior elder. The church is non-denominational and has campuses in Tanzania, South Africa, and United Kingdom. The church has an international advisory board that includes people from the USA and New Zealand. The church has a modern worship style and is integrated. The first principle listed on the “What We Believe” section of the website is leadership. The church believes in conservative Christian principles.

Political career

Mmusi Maimane joined the Democratic Alliance in 2009. The Democratic Alliance (DA) is the official opposition party to the ANC. The DA began with a woman named Helen Suzman. Suzman and eleven other leaders broke away from the United Party to form the Progressive Party in 1959. Suzman and the progressive party fought apartheid in Parliament. Over many decades the party absorbed many other anti-apartheid parties that were in Parliament. The DA received 1.7% of the vote in 1994. In 2011 the DA won 25% of the electorate.

The 2011 Johannesburg mayoral election was Maimane’s first testing ground. The ANC had held the position of Johannesburg mayor since the establishment of Democracy. The main issues during the campaign were the improvement of utility billing, ending a sanitation strike, improving roads. The Democratic Alliance employed the use of a flash mob at a Johannesburg mall during the campaign. Flash mobs were a very new phenomenon in 2011 and showed Maimane understood the importance of social media in a campaign. Maimane lost the campaign, but the percentage of the vote that went to the DA increased by 8%. Maimane did win a seat in the Johannesburg city council. He served on the Finance Committee and the Governance Committee.

Due to formidable showing in the 2011 Johannesburg mayoral race Helen Zille, leader of the DA made Maimane national spokesman. In 2012, he won a DA Deputy Federal Chair in a race against eight other DA members. There are three Deputy Federal Chair positions in the DA party.

In 2014 he ran to become Premier of Gauteng. Premier is a legislative position that serves as the head of a province in Parliament’s upper house. Maimane used social media and leaflets to get his message to the voters. Maimane also used a television advertisement entitled “Ayisafani.” In the advert, Maimane claimed the ANC was no longer the revolutionary party it once was. There was no mention of violence in the advert. The ANC controlled South African Broadcast Channel banned the advert on the grounds it incited violence. The DA filed a formal complaint. After a week of deliberation, the SABC aired the advert.

Even though the DA grew their share of the vote by 7%, the ANC held firm, and Maimane lost. Never discouraged, Maimane joins the National Assembly. The DA parliamentary caucus elected him Leader of the Opposition. The position is analogous to the American House Minority Leader.

In 2015, after eight years at the helm, Helen Zille decided not to seek re-election as Democratic Alliance leader. Maimane ran against three other candidates and won.

Helen Zille Controversy

In 2017 Helen Zille caused the DA much embarrassment with the following tweet.

“For those claiming legacy of colonialism was ONLY negative, think of our independent judiciary, transport infrastructure, piped water,”

Many critics assumed she meant that colonialism and apartheid were necessary to “develop” Africa. If the intention were to defend colonialism, Zille would be supporting a racist legacy that RSA has been attempting to undermine. The DA particularly did not want this tweet to tarnish their reputation as a non-racial party.

Zille the current Premier of Western Cape and former anti-apartheid activist explained this was not her intention. The controversial tweet was one of a series of tweets about her trip to Singapore. Singapore is also a former British colony. From her studies, she concluded Singapore was able to transition from colony to an economic superpower because they were able to adapt British bureaucratic style and economic philosophy to suit their needs. She was attempting to make a case for RSA viewing the totality of its colonial history. If a person could see they ways being influenced by British culture connects them with the rest of the world and the international economy, practical strategies can be created and employed to improve life in RSA.

Maimane publicly denounced her tweets as racist. He requested that she formally apologize to RSA and the DA. Zille refused because she felt she did nothing wrong. Maimane then pushed to expedite her hearing to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

At the same time Maimane denounced Zille’s tweets as racist, he reminded RSA that she had been a force for good in RSA for the majority of her career. She was at the forefront of the building of the DA. Her tweets are not representative of her totality as a leader.

After the hearing in June of 2017, Helen Zille formally apologized to RSA and the DA. She had to relinquish voting rights in the DA only communicate through proper DA channels on issues with her province the Western Cape. She was able to keep her premiership.

READ THE ENTIRE SERIES HERE

Sources

YouTube Playlist SD M Maimane and SD Hellen Zille

  1. Mmusi Maimane – a personal profile http://www.enca.com
  2. Mmusi Maimane http://whoswho.co.za
  3. SOUTH AFRICA: Mmusi Maimane Biography And Profile http://politicoscope.com
  4. People Are Very Interested In Mmusi Maimane’s White Wife http://www.2oceansvibe.com
  5. Picture of the day: Mmusi Maimane and his wife celebrate 11 years of marriage http://www.sowetanlive.co.za
  6. Mmusi Maimane Donates to Fund for Heartbroken Dad Who Lost Child and Wife to Knysna Fire http://www.sapeople.com/2017/06/12/mmusi-maimane-donates-fund-heartbroken-dad-lost-child-wife-knysna-fire/
  7. Mmusi Maimane and wife talks to us by S. Kamnqa in DRUM
  8. Analysts Follow South Africa’s Latest Political Star Mmusi Maimane by P. Granitz http://www.npr.org
  9. 2011 elections: Johannesburg results http://www.politicsweb.co.za
  10. DA show new face with Black Leaders The Witness 11-26-12
  11. Stepping Up The Sunday Independent 11-25-2012
  12. Mmusi Maimane http://www.gutenburg.us
  13. Republic of South Africa election results lookup http://www.electionresources.org
  14. Maimane elected new Democratc Alliance Leader http://www.news24.com
  15. Outrage over Helen Zille Colonialism Tweets http://www.aljeezra.com
  16. The Potential That is in Africa YouTube
  17. Session 5 Mmusi Maimane Planetshaker
  18. Talk to Al Jeezra – Mmusi Maimane “Fighting a System, not a Race
  19. [Full Speech] The ANC is Dead. Long Live South Africa – Mmusi Maimane
  20. DA Mmusi Maimane Hitting Back at Jacob Zuma | SONA 2017
  21. Mmusi Maimane full speech: ANC Enemy of the People
  22. Mmusi Maimane 2017 SONA debate
  23. Natalie Maimane – nie net ‘n gewone huisvrou nie
  24. ‘n Halfuur met Hanlie | Mmusi Maimane en sy Natalie praat oor hul verhouding
  25. We Talk Ties and Socks with DA Leader, Mmusi Miamane
  26. Dinner Talk – Mmusi Maimane
  27. Watchmen on the Wall, exclusive interview with newly-elected DA Leader Mmusi Maimane
  28. Mmusi Maimane implying gays and muslims are sinners
  29. Mmusi Maimane on his church, gay rights
  30. Know Your DA The Story of the Democratic Alliance 1
  31. Wacth Maimane’s Full Speech calling for the impeachment of Zuma
  32. Jacob Zuma is a puppet to the Guptas. DA Mmusi Maimane
  33. Mmusi Maimane, DA mayoral candidate for the city of Johannesburg
  34. Message from Mmusi
  35. Mmusi Maimane on SABC Morning Live 20 – April – 2011
  36. Mmusi’s Flashmob in Maponya Mall
  37. SABC1 Election Debate (10 April 2011) with Mmusi Maimane- Part 1
  38. Who is Mmusi Maimane?
  39. Mmusi Maimane Interview on SAFM
  40. The DA’s version of BEE will deliver real Black Economic Empowerment
  41. Mmusi Maimane speaks on race and identity in South Africa
  42. Mmusi on Race Full Speech
  43. Maimane’s First speech as DA Leader Parts 1 and 2
  44. ANC Ayisafani – DA TV ad
  45. Ayisafani 2 DA TV ad
  46. DA suspends Zille
  47. Maimane and Zille hold joint press conference
  48. Mmusi Maimane on suspending Zille
  49. Maimane on coalitions, Zille and the ANC
  50. Full Tweet disclosure from Helen Zille Part 1,2,3
  51. Hellen Zille in Twitter Storm Discussion
  52. ANN7 viewers react to Zille’s Tweet