After this misconduct finding, Pule declined to stand for re-election as an ordinary Member of Parliament in the 2014 general election.

[2][3] She attended Elijah Mango College of Education in Nelspruit from 1987 to 1989, where she trained as a secondary school teacher; while there, she served on the student representative council (first as secretary and then as deputy president) and as a founding member of the anti-apartheid South African National Students Congress.

[2][4] In addition to her teaching diploma, Pule subsequently received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the University of South Africa.

[3] She was MEC for Safety and Security until February 2007, when – in what was viewed as a promotion for Pule[5] – she was moved to the Agriculture and Land Administration portfolio in a reshuffle by Makwetla.

[7] In that capacity, she chaired the Mpumalanga government's political task team ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

[3] During Pule's tenure as Minister, her term on the ANC National Executive Committee expired, and she was not re-elected at the next party elective conference in December 2012.

On 9 July 2013,[4] while an investigation into the allegations was ongoing, Zuma fired Pule and replaced her with Yunus Carrim.

[15] The allegations were investigated by a nine-member multi-party panel appointed by Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests.

[14] However, the panel did not find sufficient evidence to substantiate the Sunday Times's further claim that Pule had received, and had failed to disclose, a gift from Mngqibisa (allegedly a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes).

[15] In addition to recommending that Pule should be subject to a criminal investigation,[16] the parliamentary committee recommended that Pule should be subject to the harshest sanctions permitted by the parliamentary rules: a public reprimand in the National Assembly, a fine equivalent to 30 days' salary, and 15 days' suspension from the assembly.

[16] The allegations were also investigated by the Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, who concurred with the parliamentary inquiry in finding Pule guilty of misconduct and of "persistently lying".

[4] Although she was ranked high enough (70th) to secure a seat,[4] she withdrew her name from the party list and retreated from frontline politics.

[19] However, the party's elective conference was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic; when it was finally held in 2022, Pule did not contest a top position.

[20] In August 2021, Pule was appointed to a four-year term as deputy chairperson of the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency, a public entity.