Irene Mutsila

Irene Mutsila (5 June 1949 – 29 July 2017) was a South African politician from Limpopo. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist and poet, she was the first woman mayor of Vhembe District Municipality from 2006 to 2007. Before that, she represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Council of Provinces from 1994 to 1999 and in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2004.

Early life and activism Mutsila was born on 5 June 1949 in Sibasa outside Thohoyandou in the former Northern Transvaal. She was active in the anti-apartheid movement and a veteran of the ANC Women's League. After the end of apartheid, she served in the Provincial Executive Committee of the ANC's Limpopo branch. After a term there, she was elected to the National Assembly in the 1999 general election, again serving the Northern Transvaal (by then renamed Northern Province).

Mayor of Vhembe: 2006–2007 In mid-March 2006, after the 2006 local elections, Mutsila was elected as the first female executive mayor of Limpopo's Vhembe District Municipality. However, her relationship with the ANC-controlled municipal council quickly deteriorated into what a local newspaper called a "power struggle".

The council subsequently alleged that the appointment of the municipal manager had been corrupt and grossly irregular. In addition, it said that Mutsila had defied the council's instruction to her to revoke the appointment.