The former Deputy President of the ANCYL attended a gala dinner in Mbombela over the weekend and it was revealed there that he has now been re-united with Mpumalanga premier David Mabuza.
The gala dinner, which was a fundraiser and a precursor to the province’s 105th birthday bash, was attended by business people, members of the ANC’s NEC and other eminent persons of the province.
Ronald Lamola is Mabuza’s former spokesperson and led the ANCYL as its Deputy President before EFF leader Julius Malema was sacked and the youth league disbanded in 2012.
He contested league leader Collen Maine in 2015 for the youth league’s number one job but lost when delegates elected Maine unopposed.
During this time, Lamola described Mabuza as a corrupt leader and slammed the gate-keeping in Mpumalanga ANC, saying he opted to leave Mpumalanga for Gauteng because in Mpumalanga the branches didn’t want to accept his membership.
This was also during the time when Mabuza was seeking a third term as Mpumalanga ANC chairman.
He was also part of the #OccupyLuthuliHouse group which marched on the ruling party’s headquarters last year and he spearheaded a protest by a handful of people outside the St George’s hotel during an NEC meeting calling for President Jacob Zuma to be recalled.
At a gala diner held at the Mbombela stadium on Saturday night attended by national chairwoman Baleka Mbete, Mabuza said as Mpumalanga they felt they were “united and stable”.
“Under these difficult challenges confronting our movement today we think we are stable,” Mabuza told businesspeople and dignitaries.
“From time to time we work for unity, we forge unity within our ranks and we do that practically,” he said.
“Today in our midst we have got the former deputy president of the youth league, Ronald and here is Ronald (pointing at him), we had a very good discussion with Ronald, a team talk,” Mabuza told the gathering.
“We had a father-to-son talk and finally we have agreed that Ronald should come back home,” he said to thunderous applause.
“So to you people of the province, Ronald is our son,” Mabuza said.
On Sunday, Lamola arrived alongside Mbete and Mabuza and walked around the stadium, greeting supporters.
Speaking to 013NEWS on the sidelines of the celebration Lamola said that uniting with ANC is what “I always wanted”.
He told the 013NEWS reporter: “This is my home. I always wanted to participate in the politics of Mpumalanga but it was not like that. Now I’m fine”.
(edited by MLM)
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