He was formerly Deputy Speaker in the legislature and also served as a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) in KwaZulu-Natal from 2009 to 2014.
[1] In the early 1990s, he lived in Hammarsdale in Natal and was a prominent figure in the nearby township of Mpumalanga, where he helped mediate the ongoing political violence between ANC supporters and supporters of Inkatha, later renamed the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).
After the 2009 general election, newly elected Premier Zweli Mkhize appointed him to the KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council as MEC for Social Development,[7] an office Radebe retained until a reshuffle in November 2011, when he was appointed MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development and Environmental Affairs.
[12] Radebe did not stand for re-election to the provincial legislature in the 2019 general election,[9] but instead resigned to focus on running his charitable foundation.
[1] He remained an outspoken ally of former President Jacob Zuma,[13][14] who said after his death that Radebe had been his "best friend".