Popo Molefe

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Popo Molefe
1st Premier of North West
In office
1994 (1994)–2004 (2004)
Preceded byNew position
Succeeded byMolewa, B.E.E.
Chairman of the board of PetroSA
In office
2002–2010
Preceded byNew position
Succeeded byMokaba, A.M.B.
Chairman of the board of PRASA
In office
2014–2017
Preceded byButhelezi, S.
Succeeded byKweyama, K.
Chairman of the board of Transnet
In office
2018 – in office
Preceded byMabaso, L
Personal details
Born
Popo Simon Molefe

26 April 1952
Sophiatown, Gauteng, South Africa
Political partyAfrican National Congress
Spouse(s)Plaatjie, B.

Popo Simon Molefe

Sophiatown, Johannesburg) is a businessman and former politician from South Africa
.

Early life

One of eight children, Molefe was the son of a laborer and a

Soweto Uprising of 1976.[1]
: 192 

Molefe is a member of the

Methodist Church of South Africa.[citation needed
]

Political involvement

Molefe was one of the founding members of the

Azanian People's Organization at its formation in 1978 and became the first chairman of the Soweto branch in 1979.[1]: 193  He left the group in 1981 as a result of a dispute over the role of white Africans in the anti-apartheid movement, and the following year he became one of the Committee of Ten within the Soweto Civic Organization,[1]: 193  serving in that capacity until 1984. He also was involved with the founding of the United Democratic Front in January 1983.[1]: 193  In August 1983, he became the UDF's National General-Secretary.[1]
: 194 

Molefe was arrested on several occasions as a result of his political activities. A 1985 arrest resulted in three years of detention without bail, followed by court proceedings in the Delmas Treason Trial.[3] At the end of that trial, Molefe was one of eleven men convicted of anti-apartheid activities, and he drew a prison sentence of ten years from Judge van Dijkhorst, the second-longest sentence among the men convicted.[3] His sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court of South Africa in 1989.

Following his release from prison, Molefe became a member of the newly-legalized

North West Province in 1994. He held this position until April 2004, when he resigned from politics citing a desire to tend to his "personal health and family".[4]

Business appointments

Marriage

Molefe was married to Boitumelo "Tumi" Plaatje, with whom he had four children. The couple divorced in 2003, after she alleged that he had molested his ten-year-old daughter.[8] Molefe denied the accusations, and attributed them to what he termed Plaatje's "unstable history of making false allegations".[9] Police investigated Plaatje's claim but declined to prosecute, citing a lack of sufficient evidence.[9]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-86975-280-4
    .
  2. ^ Mecoamere, Victor (27 May 2013). "Naledi High turns 50". Sowetan Live. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  3. ^ a b Wren, Christopher. "South Africa Sentences 4 Dissidents", The New York Times, 9 December 1988.
  4. ^ South African Press Association. "Popo Molefe quits formal politics", Independent Online (South Africa), 22 April 2004.
  5. ^ "Popo Molefe joins Canadian platinum miner", Creamer Media's Mining Weekly, 13 July 2004.
  6. ^ "ANC's Chancellor House mum on sale of Hitachi stake". IOL. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Board of Directors". Transnet. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  8. ^ South African Press Association. "Ex-wife accuses Molefe of molesting child" Archived 29 April 2003 at the Wayback Machine, The Daily Dispatch, 15 March 2003.
  9. ^ a b South African Press Association. "Molefe's sex probe dropped", News24, 15 September 2003.
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