Stanley Mogoba

Mmutlanyane Stanley Mogoba (born 29 March 1933) is a retired South African politician and Methodist minister. He was the president of the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) from 1996 to 2003 and represented the party in the National Assembly from 1997 to 2004. A former anti-apartheid activist and alumnus of Robben Island, he was presiding bishop of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa from 1988 until 1996.

Early life and activism Mogoba was born on 29 March 1933 in Polokwane in the former Northern Transvaal. He was the youngest of six siblings, born to a father who was a teacher and Methodist lay preacher. Influenced by Flag Boshielo of the Communist Party of South Africa, he joined the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League while at high school.

Post-apartheid political career

Election as PAC president: 1996 At the PAC's fifth annual conference in Thohoyandou in December 1996, Mogoba was elected unopposed as president of the party. His primary competition for the position had been the incumbent, Clarence Makwetu, who was persuaded to withdraw from the race and accept another position as PAC chairperson. He also led the party through its campaign ahead of the 1999 general election, and during that period controversially called for criminals to be punished by amputation. In addition, after his election,

Sell-out rumours: 1997 In September 1997, while Mogoba was serving in Parliament, questions about his integrity emerged after media reports claimed that President Nelson Mandela had advised him not to seek a seat on the Portfolio Committee on Intelligence in order to avoid the "indignity" of a security clearance check. The PAC interpreted the reports as an attempt to portray Mogoba as a security risk and sell-out. Sources told the media that Mogoba was unsuitable for security clearance because he had turned state witness during the 1988 trial of Enoch Zulu, a former APLA commander who was convicted of terrorism by the apartheid state. Mogoba conceded that he had testified during the trial, but said that he had done so on the advice of the PAC after he was subpoenaed. He also said that his testimony had not incriminated Zulu beyond his admission that he had harboured Zulu at his house in Durban. The lawyer who had represented him at the trial, Dikgang Moseneke, labelled his claims as "nonsense", saying that Mogoba was "the real hero" for having harboured APLA commanders at his house. He was nonetheless nominated to one of the party's three remaining seats in the National Assembly, where he served alongside Patricia de Lille and his deputy, Motsoko Pheko. During his time in Parliament, he was critical of President Thabo Mbeki's HIV/AIDS policy and favoured higher taxation to eradicate poverty.

Although the PAC did not accept Mogoba's 1999 offer to resign from the party presidency, over the next few years he faced continuous internal pressure for leadership change. The pressure came to a head in the run-up to the party's 2003 elective congress. Although Mogoba initially said he intended to stand for re-election, he announced in June 2003 that he would step down. His former deputy, Motsoko Pheko, succeeded him as PAC president. In February 2004, he also resigned from the National Assembly, ceding his seat to Pheko's new deputy, Themba Godi.

Personal life Mogoba's first wife died in the late 1960s. In 1969, he remarried to Johanna Mamongae Mahlare, with whom he has three children.