Former African National Congress chief whip Tony Sithembiso Yengeni's guilty plea to arms fraud charges could spell the end of his political career.

But those who know the former "young lion" say we shouldn't bet on it.

From Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) commander to unabashed populist, he became known as a "Gucci socialist" who flaunted his wealth: he said driving his infamous Mercedes 4x4 was like "flying in a jet".

Born in Cape Town in 1954, Yengeni grew up in Guguletu and Nyanga, and was a matriculant during the 1976 school riots.

He left South Africa for Lesotho a year later and became a close friend of assassinated MK chief Chris Hani while undergoing training in Angola and Russia, where he completed a diploma in political science.

He married his comrade, Lumka Nyamza, in Lusaka, where the two had their first child, Amandlabantu.

The Yengenis returned to Cape Town in 1986, when Yengeni became commander of MK in the Western Cape.

He emerged as a very public figure in 1987, when he and 13 other activists were charged with several counts of terrorism.

The composition of the "Yengeni 14" was a telling indication of Yengeni's organisational ability, as his unit had members of all population groups at a time when most MK units were predominantly black.

After his release on amnesty in 1993, Yengeni attracted controversy by urging ANC supporters not to heed a call by the police to hand in their weapons. He pointed out that Hani had died without a bodyguard or a gun to defend himself.

Despite going against the ANC mood of reconciliation, he rose to prominence in the movement when he persuaded youths who had rioted in Cape Town after Hani's murder to return to the township.

Yengeni became the ANC's Western Cape provincial secretary in 1992 and co-ordinator of the ANC's election campaign in 1994.

When the populist wing of the ANC collapsed after 1997, Yengeni eagerly embraced the philosophy and style of the patriotic black middle-class promoted by President Thabo Mbeki.

This allowed the former communist leader to flaunt his natty dress style with suits costing several thousand rands. He also modelled an Italian suit for an upmarket men's clothing store.

Yengeni was later appointed chairperson of parliament's joint standing committee on defence during the procurement process for a multibillion-rand arms package during the late 1990s.

In his position as chief whip of the ANC, he internalised an ANC style of leadership that was "discernably authoritarian".

He used his influential position as chief whip to quash increasingly strident calls from within the ANC to have a rigorous investigation into the arms deal.

Courageous ANC MP Andrew Feinstein resigned as a result.

After the newspaper allegations, the outcry and the eventual trial, Yengeni remains an MP and earns more than R25 000 a month, and is said to still command a loyal support base in the Cape. - Political Bureau

With acknowledgements to Andre Koopman and The Star.