Ace Magashule

Elias Sekgobelo "Ace" Magashule (born 3 November 1959) is a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist who served as the Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa's governing party, between December 2017 and his suspension on 3 May 2021. He served as the Premier of the Free State, one of South Africa's nine provinces, from 2009 until 2018, and is known to be influential in the ANC of his home province. An outspoken ally of former President Jacob Zuma, Magashule has been accused of various corrupt activities. He was arrested in November 2020 and awaits trial on charges relating to corruption under a government contract awarded while he was Premier. He was expelled from the ANC in June 2023 after the party's National Disciplinary Committee had found that he had brought the party into disrepute. Early life Magashule attended Tumahole Primary School (now Lembede Primary) and Phehellang Secondary School in his hometown of Tumahole, Parys. He gained his nickname, "Ace," on the school soccer field. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Fort Hare University, and after graduating taught at Moqhaka High School in Sebokeng and later at Phehellang, his own former school. In his youth, Magashule was a member of the Congress of South African Students and the Tumahole Youth Congress. In 1982, while a student at the Fort Hare, he was arrested following a protest against a visit by Ciskei Prime Minister Lennox Sebe, and convicted of public violence. His official ANC biography claims that he was charged with high treason, but this is contradicted by court records. In the 1980s, he played a role in the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the Northern Free State, and participated in organising rent boycotts in Tumahole. He was detained for his UDF activities in 1985.