Mbombela - David "DD" Mabuza is to bid farewell to his home province of Mpumalanga, where he served as both premier and ANC chairperson.

He was plunged into national politics when he was elected as President Cyril Ramaphosa's second-in-command in the African National Congress.

He started his tenure as the ANC's Mpumalanga chair in 2008 and was then elected as its premier in 2009.

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Mabuza was his home province's education MEC between 1994 and 1998, which was followed by a stint at the Mpumalanga housing department and then at its roads and transport department.

The trajectory of his career in the ANC is similar to his role in government, having gone up the ranks from being a regional chairperson, to joining its provincial executive committee, becoming the deputy provincial chairperson and eventually becoming chairperson.

Although the controversial politician, also known as "The Cat", has positioned himself as a clean leader, seeking to unite and root out corruption in both his political party and the country, Mabuza is perceived by some in the ANC as a dirty politician, who has ruled his home province with an iron fist.

Mabuza, who has sought to distance the ANC from the Gupta family, which is accused of using its close relationship with former president Jacob Zuma to siphon money from the country through its control of some members of the executive and operations at state-owned enterprises, admitted that the family offered him a lift to Moscow, Russia when he was seeking medical intervention after he was poisoned.