Behind the stern facade of high office, former Deputy President David Mabuza showed a profoundly human side to those who knew him best – his security detail. Now, his former bodyguards are sharing touching accounts of a leader who treated them like family rather than staff.
During his tenure from 2018-2023, Mabuza’s personal interactions with his protection team revealed a leader who measured his worth not in power, but in simple human connections. “He didn’t see us as just bodyguards – we were his brothers,” one officer revealed.
The stories paint a portrait of uncommon warmth in the often cold corridors of power:
– Insisting his team join him for meals during braais, refusing to eat until they were served
– Offering his own home as lodging for exhausted officers after late shifts
– Remembering family details and checking in during personal hardships
“Most VIPs barely notice us,” another guard explained. “But DD (Mabuza) would call you by name, ask about your kids, make sure you’d eaten.”
These seemingly small gestures carried immense weight for men accustomed to being invisible shadows. One recalled Mabuza personally intervening when a colleague’s child needed medical care: “He didn’t just say sorry – he made calls, opened doors. That’s who he was.”
The testimonies offer a rare glimpse into the character behind the political figure – a leader who understood true authority grows from respect rather than position. “We didn’t protect him because it was our job,” a longtime bodyguard reflected. “We protected him because he made us want to.”
As South Africa assesses Mabuza’s legacy, these personal accounts suggest his most enduring impact may not be in policies or speeches, but in the quiet dignity he extended to those the political world often overlooks. The loyalty he inspired through basic human kindness stands as a powerful lesson in leadership that transcends politics.
For the men who stood closest to him through triumphs and crises, Mabuza’s legacy is written not in headlines, but in memories of shared meals, unexpected kindnesses, and the radical notion that even a deputy president is just a man among men.