8 ).
During the years of the interim committee’s reign, Magashule found
his feet as an MP in Cape Town, where he was a member of
Parliament’s portfolio committees on communications and provincial
and local government. Judging by Hansard records, Magashule
contributed to committee meetings from time to time, but his mind was
no doubt consumed with thoughts of his inevitable comeback in his
home province.
One source who was an MP in the National Assembly in those days
said Magashule was often absent from Parliament because he was
spending a lot of time in the Free State. ‘During some weeks, Ace
would maybe attend committee meetings or sittings in Parliament on
the Monday and the Tuesday, but on Wednesday he would hop on a
plane and fly to Bloemfontein, where he would spend the rest of the
week,’ said the source. ‘He knew he risked becoming weak in the Free
State if he spent too much time outside the province, so he maintained
his presence there.’
The opportunity for Magashule to once again grab hold of the ANC’s
top position in the Free State presented itself in 2002 , when the party
was due to hold another provincial elective conference. Mbeki, of
course, wanted Direko to become chair. Her name appeared on the
ballot, but Magashule comfortably defeated her by about 100 votes.
Matosa, Magashule’s long-time ally, found himself elected to the
position of provincial secretary.^35 The victory marked the start of a
fifteen-year run of nearly uninterrupted rule by Magashule as
chairperson of the ANC in the Free State.
The ANC’s national leadership would again disband the Magashule-
led Free State PEC in 2012 , but this was yet another temporary