Think back to this time last year. The political landscape was a different animal altogether. Former African National Congress (ANC) heavyweight Mosiuoa Lekota had just served ”divorce papers” after a bitter leadership struggle left the party divided.
For a moment, it seemed as if a real alternative to the monolith ANC was at hand.
And with public dislike of ANC Youth League’s (ANCYL) Julius Malema at a new high, the appearance of the relatively unknown Anele Mda beside Lekota at his national convention on November 1 2008 was hailed as a breath of fresh air.
So dire was the youth leadership vacuum in the country that anybody who represented an alternative would have been praised. But Mda, then 30, with her community-work credentials, feisty stand and preaching on humility and the need to focus on youth issues, was gobbled up by the media.
”Malema meets his match: Mda, new voice of youth,” announced one national newspaper. She was characterised as bright, energetic, articulate and — finally — humble. Her previous membership of the ANCYL was not focused on so much as was her criticism of her former colleagues.
But within a month Mda’s shiny veneer started showing cracks. Her public statements caused increasing headaches for her already ailing party.
She was officially suspended by the Congress of the People (Cope) in September 2009 after an alleged vitriolic attack on a fellow Cope member that put her at least in the same league as her nemesis Malema.
We track the rise and fall of this might-have-been leader through quotes from the media and the woman herself.