Lulu Louis Aaron Mnguni is a South African politician, diplomat, and former

anti-apartheid activist The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid, apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by ...

. During the 1980s, he was the chairperson of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the

Northern Transvaal Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

while lecturing in the philosophy department at the

University of the North The University of Limpopo is a university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2005, by the merger of the University of the North and the Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA). These previous institutions for ...

. He represented the

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

(ANC) in 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 ...

during the first democratic Parliament before joining the

diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to ...

in 1999.

Career during apartheid

In the 1980s, Mnguni was a

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

lecturer at the University of the North. In 1985, he was elected as the inaugural vice-chairperson of the UDF's Northern Transvaal branch, deputising Peter Nchabeleng and serving alongside secretary Joyce Mabudafhasi. When Nchabeleng was detained (and later killed) by

Lebowa Lebowa was a bantustan ("homeland") located in the Transvaal in northeastern South Africa. Seshego initially acted as Lebowa's capital while the purpose-built Lebowakgomo was being constructed. Granted internal self-government on 2 October 1 ...

police, Mnguni acted as UDF regional chairperson. Mnguni was also frequently detained for his anti-apartheid activism. During the 1986 state of emergency, which was accompanied by a wide-ranging police crackdown, Mnguni became one of the longest-serving detainees; he was detained without trial between June 1986 and February 1989, and was hospitalised twice during that time.

Post-apartheid career

In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, Mnguni was elected to represent the ANC in the National Assembly. After a single term in the seat, in 1999, he was appointed as the inaugural South African High Commissioner to Mauritius and the Seychelles, where he served from 1999 to 2003. He was appointed as inaugural Ambassador to Guinea-Bissau in 2008, and he later served as High Commissioner to Nigeria from 2013 to 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mnguni, Louis Living people African National Congress politicians 21st-century South African politicians 20th-century South African politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa South African diplomats Academic staff of the University of Limpopo Anti-apartheid activists Year of birth missing (living people)