Thembisile Angel Khanyile (born 12 August 1982) is a South African politician who is a member of the

National Assembly of South Africa The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation syste ...

representing the Democratic Alliance. She is currently the Shadow Minister of Home Affairs. Khanyile had previously served as the Shadow Deputy Minister of Home Affairs.

Political career

Khanyile joined the Democratic Alliance in 2014 as an ordinary member. She served as a councillor in the

Lekwa Local Municipality Lekwa Local Municipality is a South African local municipality situated in the southwest of the Gert Sibande District Municipality of Mpumalanga. Standerton, an urban node, is the seat of the Lekwa Local Municipality. The municipality was inaugu ...

before she was appointed to parliament.

Parliamentary career

On 11 December 2017, Khanyile entered the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

as a DA representative from

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

. She became an alternate member of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development on 9 March 2018. Khanyile delivered her

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

on 9 May 2018. Prior to the 2019 general election, Khanyile was placed 52nd on the DA's national list and 3rd on the party's regional Mpumalanga list. She won a full term in parliament at the election on 8 May 2019. Soon after, on 5 June, she was appointed as Shadow Deputy Minister of Home Affairs by

Mmusi Maimane Mmusi Aloysias Maimane (born 6 June 1980) is a South African politician, businessman, and Leader of Build One South Africa, a political party. Maimane is also the former Leader of South Africa, South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance (So ...

, the DA leader. On 2 July 2019, Joe McGluwa, the then-Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, nominated Khanyile for chairperson of the

Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs is a portfolio committee of the National Assembly in the Parliament of South Africa. The remit of the committee includes oversight of the Department of Home Affairs, the Government Printing Works, and the El ...

. She lost to the

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

's candidate,

Bongani Bongo Bongani Thomas Bongo (born 29 June 1978) is a South African politician, whose ANC membership is currently suspended along with the party's secretary-general Ace Magashule. Bongo is the former Minister of State Security, a position to which he w ...

. Maimane resigned as DA leader in October 2019 and

John Steenhuisen John Henry Steenhuisen (born 25 March 1976) is a South African politician who has served as the leader of the Opposition since October 2019 and has been the federal leader of the Democratic Alliance since November 2020, having served as the in ...

was voted in as interim leader in November. He temporarily retained Maimane's shadow cabinet, keeping Khanyile in her position. On 20 February 2020, she accused ANC deputy whip

Dorries Dlakude Doris Eunice Dlakude, also sometimes spelled Dorris or Dorries, is a South African politician who has been a Member of Parliament (MP) for the African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political ...

of instigating gender-based violence. Dlakude then said that Khanyile must bring a substantive motion to back up her claim. Khanyile was promoted to Shadow Minister of Home Affairs on that same day. On 5 December 2020, Khanyile was reappointed as Shadow Minister of Home Affairs by

in his first shadow cabinet reshuffle since he was elected leader for a full term at the

2020 Democratic Alliance Federal Congress The Democratic Alliance (DA) held its leadership conference virtually between 31 October and 1 November 2020. It was originally scheduled to be held in May 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The previous congress was held in 2 ...

Personal life

Khanyile lives in

Standerton Standerton is a large commercial and agricultural town lying on the banks of the Vaal River in Mpumalanga, South Africa, which specialises in cattle, dairy, maize and poultry farming. The town was established in 1876 and named after Boer leader Co ...

. She has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khanyile, Angel Living people 1982 births Politicians from Mpumalanga Democratic Alliance (South Africa) politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa