Tolashe was a member of the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature between 2001 and 2008, and she rose to national political prominence as the Secretary-General of the ANC Women's League under President Angie Motshekga. She was Secretary-General from July 2008 until she was ousted in August 2015. She went on to serve as a backbencher in the National Assembly from 2016 to 2018 and then as mayor of the Eastern Cape's Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality from 2018 to 2019. She returned to the National Assembly in the 2019 general election and was appointed to her deputy ministerial position in a March 2023 reshuffle by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Tolashe was born on 21 December 1959[3] in Queenstown in the former Cape Province.[4] She entered politics through youth organisations in the anti-apartheid movement and served in various civic organisations under the United Democratic Front.[4] In the 1980s, she was detained without trial for five years – three years under Section 29 of the Internal Security Act, and two years under the prevailing state of emergency regulations.[4]
During her tenure, in December 2007, Tolashe attended the mainstream ANC's 52nd National Conference, where she was elected to a five-year term as a member of the ANC National Executive Committee. Her candidacy had been endorsed by the Congress of South African Trade Unions,[7] and she received 1,574 votes from the roughly 4,000 delegates at the conference, making her the 59th-most popular candidate of the 80 ordinary members elected to the committee.[8]
ANCWL Secretary-General: 2008–2015
Her departure from the legislature followed her election as national Secretary-General of the ANC Women's League (ANCWL), a full-time position based out of Luthuli House. She was elected to that office on 6 July 2008 at a league conference in Bloemfontein.[9] She succeeded Bathabile Dlamini who, at the same conference, was beaten by Angie Motshekga in the race for the ANCWL presidency. Mpai Mogori was elected as Tolashe's deputy.[9]
At the ANC's 53rd National Conference in December 2012, Tolashe was re-elected to the ANC National Executive Committee, ranked 56th with 1,715 votes from 4,500 delegates.[10][11] After the conference, the ANCWL was criticised for failing to field women candidates for the top leadership positions.[12] In October 2013, Tolashe said that the mainstream ANC would have a woman president "in time", and that, though the time had not yet arrived, "I think we are almost there now."[13]
Both Motshekga and Tolashe were voted out of the ANCWL leadership at the league's next elective conference, held in August 2015 after a long delay. Meokgo Matuba won the Secretary-General position, beating Tolashe by 348 votes.[14]
Tolashe's term in the National Assembly lasted less than two years: she resigned on 25 February 2018,[15] ceding her seat to Daniel Jabu Kabini.[19]
Mayor of Enoch Mgijma: 2018–2019
Tolashe left Parliament to accept election as Executive Mayor of the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality, her hometown in the Eastern Cape.[6] She was elected on 26 February, replacing the embattled Lindiwe Gunuza-Nkwentsha as part of an ANC campaign to stabilise mismanaged municipalities.[20][21]
Her tenure in the mayoral office was brief. In the 2019 general election, she was nominated to return to the National Assembly, ranked 11th on the ANC's regional party list for the Eastern Cape constituency.[16][22] After the election, Sibusiso Mvana succeeded her as mayor.[23]
In May 2022, Tolashe was elected to the 30-member Provincial Executive Committee of the Eastern Cape branch of the ANC.[27] In December, the ANC's 55th National Conference elected her to return to the National Executive Committee; she was elected narrowly, ranked 77th of 80 members with 973 votes from the 4,400 delegates.[28] At the conference, she reportedly supported Cyril Ramaphosa's bid for re-election as ANC President; she was linked politically to Oscar Mabuyane and his allies in the Eastern Cape, a group sometimes nicknamed the Chris Hani Cabal.[29][27]
In July 2023, the ANCWL held its first elective conference since the 2015 meeting at which Tolashe had been voted out of the leadership. Tolashe was viewed as a frontrunner for election to the league's presidency,[32] running with the support of Ramaphosa and his allies, including Pemmy Majodina and Angie Motshekga.[33][34] Her slate of running mates included Lungi Gcabashe, Nokuthula Nqaba, and, until her death, Tina Joemat-Pettersson.[33] She stood against Bathabile Dlamini, the outgoing ANCWL President, and Thembeka Mchunu ultimately emerged as another pro-Ramaphosa candidate.[29][35]
At the conference held from 21 to 23 July 2023, Tolashe had the most branch nominations for the president position; she had received 1,564 nominations while her competitors Mchunu and Dlamini received 796 and 258 nominations respectively.[36] On the final day of the conference, Tolashe was announced as the league's new president, having received 1,729 votes while Mchunu and Dlamini got 1,038 and 170 votes respectively.[37]