ANALYSISDepartment of Social Development’s underqualified chief of staff resigns without facing disciplinary hearingLesedi Mabiletja, appointed as chief of staff to the minister of social development at the age of 22 and without the necessary qualifications, has resigned.ByRebecca Davis

Lesedi Mabiletja, appointed as chief of staff to the minister of social development at the age of 22 and without the necessary qualifications, has resigned. A chief of staff unlawfully appointed to support Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe in 2025 has tendered her resignation after having been suspended on full pay for more than three months. The resignation of Lesedi Mabiletja, whoDaily Maverick revealedwas just 22 at the time of her appointment and lacked theminimum legal requirementsfor the post, was announced in an internal memo to staff at the Department of Social Development (DSD) dated 20 January 2026.

“Ms Lesedi Mabiletja, who served as a Personal Assistant to the Minister and had been appointed in August 2025 to act as the Chief of Staff in the Ministry for a period of six (6) months has tendered her resignation, effective 08 January 2026,” read the memo. “The Department expresses its appreciation to Ms Mabiletja for her service, commitment, and the contribution made during her tenure, and wishes her well in her future endeavours.” The department’s reminder that Mabiletja was appointed on a six-month contract would mean that her tenure was due to expire in January in any event — seemingly bringing a neat end to this saga. In reality, however, multiple unanswered questions remain — none of which department spokesperson Nomfundo Xulu-Lentsoane had responded to by the time of writing, despite having committed to doing so.

Mabiletja had originally been appointed in 2024 as Tolashe’s private secretary — despite the fact that, asDaily Maverick subsequently revealed, the department’s top officials had explicitly been warned by their human resources (HR) department that Mabiletja did not even meet the minimum requirements for the role. An HR document obtained by Daily Maverick reminded the department that the DSD’s top officials, including Deputy Minister Ganief Hendricks, were present at a meeting on 1 August 2024, in which they were informed that Mabiletja did not meet the requirements for the post. Mabiletja’s appointment as private secretary was nonetheless approved by the acting DSD director-general, Peter Netshipale. Inexplicable, that is, beyond the fact that Mabiletja appears to be the niece of Tolashe’s favoured special adviser, Ngwako Kgatla.