Mafika Mndebele
Mafika Mndebele | |
|---|---|
| Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature | |
| Assumed office February 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 January 1987 |
| Party | African National Congress |
Mafika Damane Mndebele (born 1 January 1987) is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal. He has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature since February 2024.
Early life and career
[edit]Mthethwa was born on 1 January 1987.[1] He began his political career in the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC), the ANC Youth League (ANCYL). He was also the national spokesperson of the South African Communist Party's Young Communist League, then led by Buti Manamela.[2][3]
In 2016, Mndebele was a witness to the assassination of ANC politician Wandile Ngobeni in a bar in Madadeni; Mndebele was shot in the foot in the attack.[4]
When the leadership of the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the ANCYL was disbanded by the league's national leadership in 2021, Mndebele was appointed as coordinator of the interim leadership corps tasked with organising the branch's next elective conference. However, the conference was postponed several times, reportedly because of ferocious infighting btween Mndebele and his cohort, interim leadership convener Sanele Mbambo.[5][6][7]
In July 2022, Mndebele graduated from the ANCYL to the Provincial Executive Committee of the mainstream Gauteng ANC; he was elected to his first term on the committee at the party's provincial elective conference that month,[8] and he was also appointed as the party's provincial spokesperson.[9]
KwaZulu-Natal Legislature: 2024–present
[edit]In February 2024, Mndebele was sworn into an ANC seat in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature. He filled the casual vacancy created by the departure of Mervyn Dirks, who had been expelled from the party.[10]
In the next general election in May 2024, he was elected to a full term in the legislature, ranked fourteenth on the ANC's provincial party list.[1] He was also elected as chairperson of the legislature's Portfolio Committee on Economic Affairs and Tourism.[11]
In November 2024, opposition legislators photographed Mndebele sleeping on the parliamentary benches during a speech by provincial minister Francois Rodgers.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Final Candidate Lists for 2024 National and Provincial Elections: Provincial Candidates" (PDF). Electoral Commission of South Africa. 10 April 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "Youth leagues in SA: A poverty of options". The Mail & Guardian. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ^ "Young communists plot mutiny in KZN". The Mail & Guardian. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ^ "Witnesses, cops on KZN hit lists". The Mail & Guardian. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ^ "Weakened KZN ANCYL still hopes for a "bite" at conference debates". The Mail & Guardian. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ^ Tandwa, Lizeka (17 March 2023). "Eastern Cape, KZN to form united block for ANC Youth League conference". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ^ Phungula, Willem (13 March 2023). "ANCYL national task team reinstates Mafika Mndebele as KZN co-ordinator". Daily News. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ^ "Ex-chair Sihle Zikalala fails to make it into ANC KZN provincial executive committee". Sowetan. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ Tandwa, Lizeka (15 December 2022). "Cyril Ramaphosa faces 'ring-fenced' second term". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ^ Khoza, Amanda (27 February 2024). "KZN's Mafika Mndebele to replace Mervyn Dirks after expulsion from ANC". News24. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ^ Jack, Sipho (27 August 2025). "Political clash in KwaZulu-Natal: Mndebele disputes Rodgers' claims on departmental administration". IOL. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ^ Costa, Wendy Jasson Da (30 November 2024). "Politicians caught sleeping on the job". Daily News. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
External links
[edit]- Mr Mafika Mndebele at People's Assembly