Lehlogonolo Masoga
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Lehlogonolo Masoga | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature | |
| In office 2009–2019 | |
| Member of the Limpopo Executive Council for Roads and Transport | |
| In office July 2013 – May 2014 | |
| Premier | Stan Mathabatha |
| Preceded by | Pitsi Moloto |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1975 or 1976 (age 49–50) |
| Party | African National Congress |
| Alma mater | University of Limpopo Leeds Beckett University |
Matjie Lehlogonolo Alfred Masoga (born 1975/1976) is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature from 2009 to 2019. He was Limpopo's Member of the Executive Council for Roads and Transport from July 2013 to May 2014 and he subsequently served as Deputy Speaker of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature from 2014 to 2019. He rose to prominence as the Provincial Chairperson of the Limpopo branch of the ANC Youth League, although he was expelled from the league in July 2010 after falling out with league president Julius Malema.
Masoga was born in 1975 or 1976[1][2] in Jane Furse in Sekhukhune in present-day Limpopo province.[2] He has two Master's degrees, both earned in 2017, one in development studies from the University of Limpopo and one in leadership from Leeds Beckett University.[2]
ANC Youth League
Masoga rose to political prominence as Provincial Chairperson of the Limpopo branch of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League (ANCYL). He was viewed as the protégé of national ANCYL President Julius Malema and in 2008 was a key supporter of the successful bid to have Malema's ally Cassel Mathale elected as Provincial Chairperson of the mainstream ANC in Limpopo.[3] By 2009, Masoga was also a Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature, and the ANCYL lobbied for him to be appointed to the Limpopo Executive Council under Mathale, who had been elected Premier of Limpopo.[4] However, Masoga was not appointed and, according to the Sowetan, this damaged his relationship with Malema, whom he accused of orchestrating his exclusion from the Executive Council.[5][6]
By early 2010, Frans Moswane had launched a campaign to oust Masoga as ANCYL Provincial Chairperson, apparently with Malema's backing.[6] At the league's next provincial elective conference in Makhado in April 2010, Moswane won the chairmanship in chaotic circumstances after the police entered the conference venue and Masoga and his supporters led a walk-out. After the conference, Masoga accused Malema of having intervened in support of Moswane – including by instructing the police to remove Masoga's supporters – and claimed that the election had been invalid and that he remained ANCYL Provincial Chairperson.[7][8]
In the aftermath, the disciplinary committee of the national ANCYL charged Masoga with several "serious" and "grave" disciplinary offences in respect of the Makhado conference and its aftermath. In July 2010, the committee ruled that he was guilty of provoking division and disunity in the ANCYL, of "engaging in organised factional activity", and of acting in a way "calculated to undermine the effectiveness of the organisation".[9][10] He was expelled from the ANCYL with immediate effect.[11] Elements of the Limpopo ANCYL refused to recognise the decision, calling the national disciplinary committee a "kangaroo court",[12] and for some time Masoga continued to lead parallel ANCYL structures from a separate office in Polokwane.[13]