Mathews Phosa has been an eyewitness to the dramatic shifts of political power in South Africa.

He was involved in the Black Consciousness Movement, the UDF and the ANC, before fleeing into exile in 1985 and becoming an Umkhonto weSizwe commander in Mozambique. A lawyer by training, he was one of the first ANC members to return to South Africa to prepare the way for negotiations.

He was premier of Mpumalanga during the presidency of Nelson Mandela, with whom he had a strong relationship. Under Thabo Mbeki, whom he had known in exile, Phosa was pushed to the sidelines, with false accusations that he was involved in a ‘plot’ to overthrow the president.

Phosa had served under Jacob Zuma as an MK field commander in Mozambique, and he became treasurer-general of the ANC when Zuma became its president at Polokwane. But Phosa later became a vocal critic of Zuma, and they didn’t speak for years, until the night before Zuma’s resignation.

Phosa and Cyril Ramaphosa had studied law together at the University of the North in the 1970s, and fifty years later Phosa played a key role in advising him over the Phala Phala report that threatened to end his presidency.

Witness to Power  is a gripping story of underground activities, military operations, negotiations, political conflict and intrigue. It provides fascinating new insights into the ruling party and its leaders by an ANC elder who worked with them all.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr Nakedi Mathews Phosa was born in Mbombela township, Nelspruit, but grew up in a rural area near Potgietersrus (Mokopane). After studying law at the University of the North, he opened the first black-owned legal practice in Nelspruit in 1981. He became involved in underground ANC activities, and in 1985 he was forced into exile. After being trained in East Germany, he became the regional commander of uMkhonto weSizwe in Mozambique. Following the unbanning of the ANC in 1990, he was one of the first members of the ANC to return to South Africa to prepare for negotiations with the National Party government. He played an important role in transition initiatives, including CODESA, and headed the ANC’s legal department.

After the 1994 elections, Phosa was appointed premier of Mpumalanga, a position he held until 1999. He was a member of the ANC’s National Executive Committee and was the party’s treasurer-general from 2007 to 2012. Phosa speaks nine languages and has published two volumes of poetry: Deur die oog van ’n naald  (Through the eye of a needle) and Chants of Freedom.

'Witness To Power: A Political Memoir' is published by Penguin Random House South Africa