Onica Dipuo "Kim" Medupe (born 1975 or 1976)[1] is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the North West Provincial Legislature between May 2019 and November 2022. She was formerly the Mayor of the North West's Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality.

Kim Medupe
Member of the North West Provincial Legislature
In office
22 May 2019 – 8 November 2022
Personal details
Born1975 or 1976 (age 48–49)
CitizenshipSouth Africa
Political partyAfrican National Congress

Mayor of Kgetlengrivier

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While she was mayor, in January 2015, Medupe appeared in Koster Magistrate's Court on an assault charge. The Sowetan reported that she and another woman were alleged to have assaulted a woman whom they accused of having an affair with Medupe's husband.[1]

Medupe was re-elected[2] as Kgetlengrivier Mayor in the 2016 local government elections. By mid-2018, she had been in office for about eight years.[3] In May of that year, her house and a four-star guesthouse she owned were set alight during violent service delivery protests in Kgetlengrivier.[4][3] Medupe and other councillors fled the municipality,[5] which was later placed under administration.[3][6] The BBC reported that the immediate trigger for the protests had been residents' perception that Medupe had decided to tar the road leading to her guesthouse instead of the road leading to the local clinic.[3][5] Medupe claimed that the protests were politically motivated.[3]

Provincial legislature

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Medupe was elected to the North West Provincial Legislature in the 2019 general election, ranked eighth on the ANC's provincial party list.[7] She resigned in November 2022 and her seat was filled by Nono Maloyi, the ANC's newly elected Provincial Chairperson.[8][9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Mayor in court for assault". Sowetan. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  2. ^ Thakali, Thabiso (27 July 2016). "'Mayor lives in lap of luxury while residents suffer'". IOL. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Koster – the South African town where residents took back control". BBC News. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Mayor flees after Koster protesters torch her properties". eNCA. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Residents take charge of town killed by graft". Sunday Times. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Call for new political leadership in Kgetlengrivier Municipality". SABC News. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Onica Dipuo Medupe". People's Assembly. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  8. ^ "ANC's Nono Maloyi sworn in as new member of the North West legislature". SABC News. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  9. ^ "ANC's Nono Maloyi sworn in as MPL amid looming North West Cabinet reshuffle". The Citizen. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
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