Motlagomang Grazy "Mamiki" Qabathe is a South African politician from the Free State.
19 Facts About Mamiki Qabathe
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Mamiki Qabathe represented the African National Congress in the Free State Provincial Legislature between January 2008 and May 2024.
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Mamiki Qabathe was first appointed to the Free State Executive Council in January 2008 under Premier Beatrice Marshoff and she retained her seat throughout the first term of Premier Ace Magashule.
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Mamiki Qabathe served in several portfolios, most prominently as Member of the Executive Council for Agriculture.
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Mamiki Qabathe served under Magashule as Deputy Provincial Secretary of the ANC's Free State branch from 2008 to 2021.
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Mamiki Qabathe was sacked by Premier Mxolisi Dukwana in March 2023 and left the provincial legislature in the May 2024 general election.
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Mamiki Qabathe was born in Hennenman and grew up in Meloding, a township outside Virginia in the present-day Free State province.
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Mamiki Qabathe became active in anti-apartheid youth politics in 1986 while a student at Vista University in Bloemfontein, where she joined the Azanian Students' Organisation.
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Mamiki Qabathe was active in the regional branch of COSATU and after the end of apartheid in 1994 she became active in local structures of the African National Congress and ANC Women's League.
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In January 2008, Mamiki Qabathe was appointed to the Free State Executive Council by Beatrice Marshoff, then the Premier of the Free State.
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Mamiki Qabathe became Member of the Executive Council for Agriculture.
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In Magashule's new Executive Council, Mamiki Qabathe was returned to her old post as MEC for Agriculture.
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Mamiki Qabathe was moved to the cooperative governance, traditional affairs and human settlements portfolio in February 2011; then to the economic development, tourism and environmental affairs portfolio in February 2012; and finally back to the agriculture portfolio in March 2013.
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The opposition Economic Freedom Fighters called for Mamiki Qabathe to be fired, and the opposition Democratic Alliance asked the Special Investigating Unit to investigate her and other officials for their role.
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The DA claimed that, in addition to her putative failures as an MEC, Mamiki Qabathe had shielded Zwane from accountability while she was Speaker of the legislature.
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Mamiki Qabathe was re-elected to her party office as ANC Deputy Provincial Secretary in May 2013 and December 2017, still under Provincial Chairperson Magashule.
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Shortly after her 2017 re-election, the election results were nullified by the high court due to procedural irregularities, but Mamiki Qabathe was appointed as a member of the interim task team assembled by the national ANC to lead the provincial party until fresh elections could be held.
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In March 2023, Mamiki Qabathe was sacked from the Executive Council of Mxolisi Dukwana, who succeeded Ntombela as Premier following Ntombela's resignation the previous month.
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Mamiki Qabathe served as a backbencher in the provincial legislature until the May 2024 general election, when she gave up her seat.