By Celani Sikhakhane
- Bishop Vusi Dube now works full time on his parents’ land in Mpolweni near Pietermaritzburg after missing out on an African National Congress seat.
- Bishop Vusi Dube says people leave good land behind when they move to towns, and he believes rural land still gives families a chance to survive.
Bishop Vusi Dube has put politics aside and gone back to the soil that raised him.
He now spends his days growing vegetables and looking after cattle on his late parents’ land in Mpolweni, outside Pietermaritzburg.
Dube turned to farming after the African National Congress left his name off its KwaZulu-Natal list following the 2024 elections.
He was first brought into the legislature in 2009 for his strong support of former president Jacob Zuma.
He says the land in rural areas is still valuable and should not be ignored.
“After leaving the legislature, I decided to farm the land of my parents,” he told Scrolla.Africa.
“We hear people say they want land, but many have left fertile land behind to live in towns. That land is still our survival bank.”
Dube once threatened to leave the party when it formed a coalition with the Democratic Alliance after its big loss in KwaZulu-Natal.
But he later chose to stay and support the new Provincial Government of Unity with the Inkatha Freedom Party, Democratic Alliance, National Freedom Party and the African National Congress.
He now puts most of his energy into the farm and says he has no regrets about stepping away from politics.
He has even bought more livestock to grow his animal farming.
He recently joined a memorial service hosted by the new coalition to pray for victims of road accidents.
Pictured above: Bishop Vusi Dube turned to his family land for farming after the ANC left him unemployed.
Image source: Vusi Dube (supplied)
