Born in the Free State, Cde Lebogang Phepheng joined the South African Police Service in 1986. After completing his training at Hammanskraal, he served at Ikageng (Potchefstroom), Petrusburg, Batho, where he became a shop steward in 1994 and Park Road (also in Bloemfontein), as well as at the North West Provincial office. In 1990 he was suspended without salary for 14 months for resisting police brutality following an incident in which he forced armed police to retreat after they had already shot and killed one person and wounded 12 others. In Potchefstroom he was elected to the position of Branch Chairperson in January 1995 after Comrade Lucas Komani was elected as the Provincial Deputy Chairperson. Thereafter he led a two-week go-slow and sit-in that forced the closure of the Ikageng police station. He also led a sit-in at Potchefstroom prison; both actions with the purpose of demanding workers’ rights and respect. In 1996 Cde Phepheng was elected North West Provincial Deputy Chairperson and he became Provincial Secretary in 2001. While at Park Road served as the Southern Free State Area POPCRU negotiator and was elected a Shop Steward in 2003. Upon being promoted to the rank of Captain in 2005 in North West, he again ascended the position of Provincial Deputy Chairperson and in July of the following year he was elected Provincial Secretary until July 2009, when he was elected Deputy General Secretary. He currently deals chiefly with human resources-related matter at the national office.Cde Phepheng was the COSATU PEC member from 2005-2009 and was immersed with leadership responsibilities, he served as the member of Anti-Corruption Forum in the NW Premiers Office, was part of the ANC NW Sub-committee representing COSATU, deployee of ANC Dr Ruth Mompati Region and continues to participate as an active ANC member at his Branch-Ikageng Township. He brings with him, a vast sense of adequate organisational work to strengthen our machinery a revolutionary impetus that will locate Popcru’s views correctly among the young workers tempo explicitly and attract their genre within our philosophy for the next decade or so. He was a student at Free State and Wits University and is currently studying for an MBA.
