Ohm Collins Chabane (15 April 1960 – 15 March 2015) was a South African Minister of Public Service and Administration. At the age of 17, he went into exile and joined the

African National Congress 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 ...

(ANC) underground military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK). Chabane also went to

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for military training in 1980, and began work underground in 1981.

Early life and education

Chabane was born in Xikundu Village, in what was then the Northern Transvaal District (now the

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

province) of the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

province. He attended Shingwedzi High School and after high school registered for a BSc at Turfloop University, but a year at the age of 17 he joined the ANC underground. Chabane was arrested by the Security Police in 1984, and was sentenced to six years imprisonment on charges of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. He was imprisoned at the same time as

Tokyo Sexwale Mosima Gabriel "Tokyo" Sexwale (; born 5 March 1953) is a South African businessman, politician, anti-apartheid activist, and former political prisoner. Sexwale was imprisoned on Robben Island for his anti-apartheid activities, alongside figur ...

, Kgalema Motlanthe,

Mosiuoa Lekota Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick Lekota (born 13 August 1948) is a South African politician, who currently serves as the President and Leader of the Congress of the People since 16 December 2008. Previously as a member of the African National Congress, ...

and

Popo Molefe Popo Simon Molefe (born 26 April 1952 in Sophiatown, Johannesburg) is a businessman and former politician from South Africa. Early life One of eight children, Molefe was the son of a laborer and a domestic worker, though he was raised largely by ...

. During his time in prison he obtained a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from Technikon South Africa, and studied aviation. Chabane also held a Diploma in Management from Arusha in Tanzania.

Politician

After his release from prison, Chabane was elected to parliament in 1994, where he served on the constitutional affairs, defense and intelligence committees. In 1997, he was appointed MEC for Limpopo, in Premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi's cabinet. In 1998, he moved to public works, where he is credited as having established the province's Roads Agency. Under the first term of Jacob Zuma's presidency, he was appointed as Minister in the Presidency. He also arranged Nelson Mandela's funeral in December 2013.

Personal life

Chabane also developed his interest in music (while in prison), headed a marimba band and recorded two CDs.

Death

In the early hours of Sunday, 15 March 2015, Chabane was killed, aged 55, in a traffic accident when a truck made a U-turn in front of Chabane's car on the N1 near Polokwane, after attending a funeral of Samuel Dickenson Nxumalo, the third Chief Minister of Gazankulu homeland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chabane, Collins 1960 births 2015 deaths African National Congress politicians People from Limpopo South African revolutionaries South African politicians convicted of crimes UMkhonto we Sizwe personnel Anti-apartheid activists Road incident deaths in South Africa Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Government ministers of South Africa