Mluleki Ezekiel Ndobe (died 6 November 2020) was a South African educator and

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 ...

politician who served as the deputy speaker of the

KwaZulu-Natal Legislature The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is unicameral in its composition and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the leading party or coalition members i ...

from 2019 until his death in 2020. Before joining the provincial legislature, he was the Executive Mayor of the

Harry Gwala District Municipality Harry Gwala is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The seat of Harry Gwala is Ixopo. The majority of its 298 392 people speak IsiZulu (2011 Census). The district code is DC43. In November 2015, Sisonke District's nam ...

Early life and education

Ndobe was born and raised in

Umzimkulu Umzimkhulu is a town in Harry Gwala District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The town lies 243 km north-east of Mthatha and 18 km south-west of Ixopo. It developed from a trading-post and was laid out in 1884 ...

in South Africa's former

Natal Province The Province of Natal (), commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organized into ...

. He matriculated from Ibisi High School. He was an educator by profession. At the time of his death, he was studying for a PhD at the

University of KwaZulu-Natal The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is a university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville. ...

Political career

Ndobe was involved in both the

Congress of South African Students The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) is an anti-apartheid Student Organisation established in 1979 in the wake of the June 16 Soweto Uprisings in 1976 in South Africa. Background COSAS was formed in June 1979 after the South African Stu ...

and the

South African Students Congress The South African Students Congress (SASCO) is a South African student organisation currently led by Bamanye Matiwane as the organization's President. SASCO was founded in September 1991 at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape, through ...

before he held senior positions in the

African National Congress Youth League The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (NW ...

. He was chairperson of the ANC in the Harry Gwala Region. Ndobe was a member of the ANC's provincial working committee and provincial executive committee. He also served as the party's deputy provincial secretary. Ndobe served as the Executive Mayor of the

for two terms. In his capacity as mayor, he served as the provincial chairperson of the

South African Local Government Association The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) is a national, voluntary political association in South Africa. It is a public entity composed of South Africa's local governments. The association's members are made of all South Africa's 257 ...

. Ndobe was elected to the

in the 2019 general election. He was then elected deputy speaker of the provincial legislature, deputising for Ntobeko Boyce. After that, Ndobe was appointed chairperson of the legislature's disciplinary committee. One of the most controversial story in the life of Ndobe is being allegedly involved in the cowardly assassination of the former

ANC Youth League The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (NW ...

Secretary-General Sindiso Magaqa, who was at the time of his death serving as a councillor in

Umzimkhulu Local Municipality Umzimkhulu Local Municipality is an administrative area in the Harry Gwala District of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Umzimkhulu is a Xhosa and Zulu name meaning “Big/Great house”. Prior to the Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution of South ...

Personal life

On 17 March 2019, Ndobe was arrested in connection to the murder of senior former ANC Youth League official Sindiso Magaqa and the attempted murders of his two colleagues. The charges were later withdrawn on 25 March. Ndobe was married to Nobuhle. On 6 November 2020, Ndobe died at his

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

home after he had allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself. He had been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. His funeral was held on 14 November.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ndobe, Mluleki 2020 deaths People from KwaZulu-Natal Zulu people Members of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Place of birth missing African National Congress politicians 21st-century South African politicians Suicides by firearm in South Africa