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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRETORIA 002764 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KJUS PGOV KDEM SF
SUBJECT: BIOS FOR COPE'S NEWLY ELECTED LEADERSHIP 
 
REF: PRETORIA 2736 
 
PRETORIA 00002764  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (U)  The newly elected leaders of the Congress of the 
People (COPE) bring a wide range of experiences to their 
positions within South Africa's newest opposition party. 
With the exception of Deputy President Lynda Odendaal, a 
political novice who was seemingly chosen out of "nowhere," 
most of the other leaders were expected to play some sort of 
senior role in the new party.  Below are short biographies of 
COPE's leaders.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U)  President Mosiuoa Lekota was former national chairman 
in the African National Congress (ANC) before he lost his 
seat at Polokwane earlier this year.  Lekota became involved 
in student politics and the Black Consciousness Movement 
during his days at the University of the North, which 
ultimately landed him an eight-year prison sentence at Robben 
Island.  Upon his release in 1982 he joined the United 
Democratic Front, where he played a key role organizing 
students and activists across South Africa.  He was later 
sentenced for additional prison time during the Delmas 
Treason Trial.  Following the ANC's unbanning, Lekota served 
as the premier of the Free State and served as ANC national 
chairman from 1997 to 2007.  He joined the Cabinet as Defense 
Minister in 1999 and resigned from his position following the 
ANC's decision to recall former President Thabo Mbeki in 
September 2008.  Following his resignation, Lekota became a 
vocal critic of the Jacob Zuma-led ANC and held a national 
convention on November 1 to explore the possibility of a new 
political party.  He subsequently formed a new party and will 
serve as COPE's first leader.  Lekota is an animated speaker 
in public as well as in private.  He claims COPE will focus 
on protecting the Constitution, de-politicizing the civil 
service, and upholding free market economic policies.  Lekota 
in 2005 suffered a heart attack, but he continues to enjoy 
South African red wine. 
 
¶3. (U)  First Deputy President Mbhazima "Sam" Shilowa was 
former premier of Gauteng before deciding to resign following 
the ANC's decision to recall Mbeki.  Shilowa has a long 
history of involvement in the ANC, but is more firmly rooted 
in the labor movement.  He joined the Transport and General 
Workers' Union in the early 1980s and later served as its 
vice-president and president.  He helped form the Congress of 
South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and became its general 
secretary in 1993.  He was elected to the ANC's national 
executive committee in 1997 and was appointed premier of 
Gauteng in 1999.  He assisted Lekota in holding the national 
convention on November 1.  Despite some press reports to the 
contrary, Shilowa seems comfortable as COPE's "number two." 
He jokingly referred to Lekota as "Shikota" (a hybrid, 
popular term referring to both Shilowa and Lekota) at COPE's 
inaugural conference in Bloemfontein.  He has reportedly been 
out front leading the party's efforts to attract other ANC 
members to COPE. 
 
¶4. (U)  Second Deputy President Lynda Odendaal is a political 
newcomer who is "making her political debut" with COPE.  A 
successful businesswoman and entrepreneur, Odendaal was born 
in Eastern Cape but now lives in Gauteng.  At age 21 she 
became a single mother and has said, "I was not born with a 
silver spoon in my mouth."  Over time, she has become a 
recognized name in the computer industry, but was so 
unassuming at COPE's inaugural conference in Bloemfontein 
Qunassuming at COPE's inaugural conference in Bloemfontein 
that Poloff sat beside her during some of the party's 
speeches without knowing who she was.  Despite her low 
profile, Lekota has promised that her "profile will be 
built."  Her business acumen has been lauded by prominent 
technology journalists such as itweb.com's Christelle Du 
Toit; Odendaal resigned from her company upon assuming her 
role in COPE.  Political analysts and journalists speculate 
she was selected as a deputy because she can attract the same 
demographic that supports Democratic Alliance leader Helen 
Zille. 
 
¶5. (U)  Secretary General Charlotte Lobe resigned from the 
ANC earlier this year despite serving on the ruling party's 
national executive committee.  Before her resignation, Lobe 
also served a provincial secretary of the Free State and had 
previously served as spokesperson for the ANC's Women's 
League.  She opted to leave the ANC in protest of how the new 
ANC leadership was handling the organization; last year she 
 
PRETORIA 00002764  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
heavily favored having Mbeki serve a third term as ANC 
President.  She was the first woman to join COPE and has been 
the face of the party whenever it has announced registration 
figures or party platforms. 
 
¶6. (U)  Deputy Secretary General Deirdre Carter is a 
political newcomer who joined COPE in KwaZulu Natal.  She has 
reportedly been active attracting support for the new party 
in the Pietermaritzburg area.  She has described herself as 
an "ordinary South African mother of two."  Pundits speculate 
Carter was selected along with Odendaal to attract white, 
female voters to the party. 
 
¶7. (U)  Treasurer Hilda Ndude in the 1990s served in the 
ANC's Western Cape executive.  She left her position in the 
party in 1998 to go into business because "we had done what 
we set out to do."  However, she has since decided she would 
be "failing the nation" if she did not get involved again. 
Ndude is a former United Democratic Front activist from the 
Western Cape. 
 
¶8. (U)  International Affairs Chairperson Lyndall 
Shope-Mafole is daughter of struggle veteran Gertrude Shope. 
Shope-Mafole is familiar with international affairs because 
she was once the deputy chair and secretary for international 
affairs in the ANC Youth League.  She was elected to the 
ANC's national executive committee in Polokwane, but resigned 
her position shortly after Lekota held the national 
convention. 
 
¶9. (U)  Head of Policy Chief Smuts Ngonyama served on the 
ANC's executive from 1994 until he lost his seat at 
Polokwane.  He is a long-time ally of Mbeki, serving as ANC 
spokesperson during much of the former President's tenure, 
and is helping to launch the Thabo Mbeki Leadership 
Institute.  Ngonyama reportedly was seeking to become COPE's 
national chairperson, but failed to attain the post when the 
draft constitution did not provide for such a slot in the 
party's structure. 
 
¶10. (U)  National Organizer Mluleki George is long-time ally 
of Lekota and was one of the first ANC leaders to resign with 
the former Defense Minister following the recall of Mbeki. 
George served as Deputy Defense Minister under Lekota, but 
following his resignation from Cabinet began rallying support 
for the new political party in Eastern Cape -- the province 
with the largest number of COPE members so far. 
 
¶11. (U)  Elections Convener Mlungisi Hlongwane is a former 
president of the South African National Civic Organization. 
A long-time ANC member, he resigned from the ruling party in 
November 2008. 
 
¶12. (U)  Media Division Chief Phillip Dexter is a former 
anti-apartheid activist who has served in Parliament, COSATU, 
and the South African Communist Party (SACP).  He was ousted 
from SACP for criticizing, what he termed, Blade Nzimande's 
"Stalinist approach" and for supporting Willie Madisha during 
the organization's "missing money saga."  Dexter is known to 
work all hours of the day and is well-connected in Western 
Cape. 
 
¶13. (U)  Zahira Ebrahim will head a position vaguely 
described as involving sectors.  She is the daughter of Pan 
Africanist Congress veteran Gora Ebrahim and niece of Zuma 
ally Ebrahim Ebrahim.  She came into light as a guest speaker 
at the national convention when she passionately expressed 
concerns over where the country was headed. 
 
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Comment 
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¶14. (U)  By choosing its leadership team by consensus, COPE 
avoided the type of political infighting that would have 
crippled the organization from the start.  However, it 
Qcrippled the organization from the start.  However, it 
remains unclear how well the team will work together or 
whether other senior leaders from the ANC who may defect 
later on will have positions in the party. 
BOST