The Dawn of Ramaphosa’s Darkness: The End of Mashatile, Mbalula, and Mantashe’s Presidential Dreams
Last night, South Africa witnessed a quiet yet thunderous moment in its political theatre — a moment that many might have missed, but those who understand power, influence, and succession saw it for what it truly was. The News Editors’ Gala Dinner became the unexpected coronation stage for the man being carefully positioned as South Africa’s next president — Dr. Patrice Motsepe. And with that symbolic unveiling, the dim hopes of Paul Mashatile, Fikile Mbalula, and Gwede Mantashe to ascend to the presidency were finally extinguished.
It is no longer a question of if but when President Ramaphosa’s twilight will settle — and who will inherit the dusk he leaves behind. For Mashatile, Mbalula, and Mantashe, the writing is not only on the wall; it is engraved in the marble halls of the corporate boardrooms and media elite gatherings that have long served as Ramaphosa’s political command centres.
The Unholy Trinity of Ambition Meets Its End
Mashatile, the eternal schemer; Mbalula, the loudmouth messenger of contradictions; and Mantashe, the ageing godfather of captured resources — all three have for years harboured illusions of power and succession. But Ramaphosa’s era has never been about loyalty to the movement or the people — it has always been about service to capital, to those who purchased influence at the price of sovereignty.
Ramaphosa’s every move has been orchestrated to secure the rule of the economic elite and to ensure that political power remains in the hands of those who serve the empire of capital — not the people of this land. In this calculus, Mashatile, Mbalula, and Mantashe were never more than pawns on a chessboard — useful in moments of turbulence, but disposable when stability must be restored.
The Corporate Messiah Emerges
When Patrice Motsepe took the stage at the News Editors’ Gala Dinner, he was not merely speaking as a business magnate or philanthropist. He was being introduced — subtly, deliberately, and with the precision of a well-oiled machine — as the “presidential successor” the establishment has chosen. The media, business, and political elites are already aligning behind him, painting him as the “solution” to Ramaphosa’s fading moral currency.
This is how the machinery works in the Ramaphosa ecosystem — succession is not decided in Luthuli House or at a conference floor; it is decided in Sandton’s boardrooms, whispered at investment forums, and confirmed at glittering dinners attended by the who’s who of capital.
Bow to Your New Master
For Mashatile, whose dream of the Union Buildings has haunted his every political manoeuvre, this moment is his sunset. His name has become a liability — tainted by scandal, mistrust, and his failure to unite even his faction. For Mbalula, whose political voice has been reduced to comedic noise, his ambition collapses under the weight of his own contradictions. And for Mantashe, the aging revolutionary turned fossilized capitalist, his influence ends where the new money begins.
The dawn that has come is not one of light — it is a manufactured sunrise masking the deepening darkness of a captured democracy. If they are wise, the trio should embrace their new roles as ceremonial elves in Ramaphosa’s fading kingdom and bow gracefully to their new master, Dr. Patrice Motsepe — the president of capital, not of the people.
The Soul of the ANC Has Been Sold
What South Africa witnessed last night is not merely the unveiling of a man — it is the exposure of a system that has long traded the soul of the ANC for boardroom applause. The movement that once carried the dreams of the oppressed has now become a private enterprise of billionaires, where political leadership is auctioned to the highest bidder.
Ramaphosa’s darkness has not only dimmed the hopes of the poor — it has swallowed the last flickers of ambition from those who thought they could one day rise above him.
Conclusion
As Rev. Mo’hau Khumalo, I say this not as a prophet of despair but as a messenger of truth: the ANC’s current trajectory is one of moral decay and elite capture. The leadership has ceased to represent the people and now represents the market. The trio of Mashatile, Mbalula, and Mantashe must accept their political sunset, for their era has ended before it even began.
“Motsepe’s Moment: Ramaphosa’s Chosen Heir and the Fall of the ANC’s Pretenders”
Last night, Ramaphosa did not just introduce a future president — he buried three.
-✍🏾Rev.Mo’hau Khumalo
Social Commentator & Transformation advocate
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