Former speaker of the National Assembly Thandi Modise has replaced Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as South Africa’s defence minister. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the move after a Cabinet reshuffle on Thursday night, which saw a shakeup of the security cluster.
Modise brings defence experience to the portfolio, having been a member of uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and chairing two parliamentary committees on defence.
Outgoing Mapisa-Nqakula landed in hot water recently when she contradicted Ramaphosa in saying the violent unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal was not an insurrection but a counter-revolution. She later did an about-turn and concurred with the President. Her image was also tarnished by her trip to Zimbabwe last year when she gave ANC members a ‘lift’.