{"id":390900,"date":"2026-08-22T21:11:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T21:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/390900\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T21:11:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T21:11:21","slug":"activist-tumi-soles-political-u-turn-may-not-see-him-return-to-the-eff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/390900\/","title":{"rendered":"Activist Tumi Sole’s political U-turn may not see him ‘return to the EFF’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\tIt was only in May that Sole was put forward by ActionSA as its candidate for MMC of Development Planning in Johannesburg.\n\t<\/p>\n

Legal practitioner and popular social activist Tumi Sole has ditched his political ambitions through ActionSA and is heading back to familiar pastures.<\/p>\n

But the EFF have seemingly made it clear that there will be no reported \u201cloveback\u201d if he comes calling.<\/p>\n

It was only in May thatSole was put forward by ActionSA as its candidate for MMC of Development Planning in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Elections\"Elections<\/p>\n

\t\tLIVE interactive map, latest news, multimedia and more!
\n\t\tView Map<\/a><\/p>\n

Three months later, the founder of social movement #CountryDuty has u-turned on the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter a brief but truly rewarding chapter in official politics, I have decided to step back from active political life. Campaigning for the people of Johannesburg has meant more to me than words can capture, and I carry every lesson from that journey with real gratitude. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo ActionSA, thank you for the opportunity and the trust you placed in me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he will now focus on #CountryDuty and his legal and corporate work, where he believes he can \u201ckeep making a meaningful difference in the lives of South Africans.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a goodbye to public service. It is simply a redirection of it, toward where I believe I can do the most good. My commitment to accountability, good governance, and a better South Africa has not changed one bit,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Mashaba speaks<\/p>\n

ActionSA president Herman Mashaba thanked Sole for his short service.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks so much, Tumi, for making yourself available to directly serve the country when I invited you to do so. I saw massive potential in you, and still do. <\/p>\n

\u201cI fully understand your current position, and will never give up on engaging you in the future. For now, I am comfortable giving you the space. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou still have a lot to offer our beloved country. All of the best with your endeavours,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

An EFF move?<\/p>\n

While the door might still be open at ActionSA, Sole may not find the carpet rolled out at Winnie Madikizela-Mandela House.<\/p>\n

Sole has previously been linked with the EFF and promoted the party on social media<\/a>, and an image of him with EFF Parliament Media Liaison Officer Andiswa Madikazi, along with her comments on his move, saw speculation swirl again.<\/p>\n

Madikazi said the party \u201chas no dustbin for human beings\u201d and \u201cwe can\u2019t crucify people for human errors. There is nothing that a decision of the highest structure can\u2019t fix.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, some online were quick to cite a rule in the party\u2019s constitution stating that no one can return once departed. Their observation and comments on Sole were shared by EFF leader Julius Malema.<\/p>\n

Madikazi stood firm, saying \u201cthe decision of the higher structure can resolve on the matter. Officials can take a decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tumi has not commented further on this or any other move.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was only in May that Sole was put forward by ActionSA as its candidate for MMC of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390901,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[52],"tags":[7399,6243,1260,70025,131],"class_list":["post-390900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-south-africa","tag-actionsa","tag-economic-freedom-fighters-eff","tag-elections","tag-local-municipal-elections","tag-south-africa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/117141221192138346","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}