Mthandeni Dlungwana
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Mthandeni Eric Dlungwana (born January 1976), also spelled Dlungwane, is a South African politician who 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
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial 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 ...
between 2011 and 2019. He was formerly
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education from 2016 to 2019 under Premier
Willies Mchunu Willies Mchunu (born 11 May 1948) was the 7th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. He was previously a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for the Department of Transport, Community Safety, and Liaison in the province. He is a memb ...
. Dlungwana was the Provincial Chairperson of the ANC Youth League in KwaZulu-Natal from May 2010 until October 2011, when his leadership corps was disbanded by the national league after he fell out with league president
Julius Malema Julius Sello Malema (born 3 March 1981) is a South African politician and activist who is a Member of Parliament and the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a left-wing party which he founded in 2013. He was formerly the President of ...
. He is also a former Regional Chairperson of the ANC's Musa Dladla branch in Umgungundlovu District. He was dismissed from the KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council after the 2019 general election and he resigned from the legislature shortly afterwards in July 2019.


Early life and career

Dlungwana was born in rural eNqabeni in KwaNxamalala, Embubu Msunduzi Local Municipality [Pietermaritzburg in present-day
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
, then the 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 ...
. His mother was a domestic worker and his father was a bus driver; Dlungwana became politically active under the influence of his father, who was a member of the United Democratic Front (South Africa)">United Democratic Front and
Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions ...
. In 2004, Dlungwana completed a
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
in development studies and town planning 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. ...
. He was a local leader in 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), chairing his local branch of the party between 2001 and 2010.


Provincial ANC Youth League: 2010–2011

He rose to political prominence during his tenure as Provincial Chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL). He formerly served as ANCYL Deputy Provincial Chairperson under
Mxolisi Kaunda Thomas Mxolisi Kaunda (born 13 September 1972) is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal serving as the Mayor of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality since 2019. He was the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison ...
from 2008 to 2010, and he succeeded Kaunda as chair at a league elective conference held 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. ...
in late May 2010. He defeated
Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu (born 22 August 1976) is a South African lawyer and African National Congress (ANC) politician who has been serving as the KwaZulu-Natal MEC (Member of the Executive Council) for Health since May 2019. She became a Member o ...
in the election and stood as part of a slate of candidates led by Provincial Secretary Bheki Mtolo, all of whom were elected to top leadership positions; the slate also included Yolanda Young,
Siboniso Duma Siboniso Armstrong Duma is a South African politician who is the provincial chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal. He is also Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental ...
, and, as Dlungwana's deputy,
Sindiso Magaqa Sindiso Magaqa (died 4 September 2017) was a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), he was assassinated while serving as a local councillor in Umzimkhulu Local Municipality. He was formerly ...
. After the election results were announced, opponents of Dlungwana's slate staged a walkout from the conference, claiming that there had been electoral irregularities. Dlungwana was initially an outspoken supporter of
Julius Malema Julius Sello Malema (born 3 March 1981) is a South African politician and activist who is a Member of Parliament and the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a left-wing party which he founded in 2013. He was formerly the President of ...
, the incumbent President of the national ANCYL. However, in early October 2011, the Malema-led national leadership of the ANCYL disbanded the league's provincial leadership in KwaZulu-Natal, prematurely ending Dlungwana's term as Provincial Chairperson. The national leadership said that the provincial leadership corps had been disbanded due to ill discipline, but Dlungwana claimed that they were being victimised because they had endorsed Jacob Zuma for re-election as ANC President in 2012, thereby breaking with the national ANCYL's position. Dlungwana subsequently became critical of Malema. When fresh leadership elections were finally run in 2015, he was succeeded as ANCYL Provincial Chairperson by Thami Ngubane.


Provincial legislature: 2011–2019

On 14 September 2011, a fortnight before he was removed from his ANCYL office, Dlungwana was sworn in to an ANC seat in the
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial 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 ...
, filling a
casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...
created after the recent local elections when Jeff Vilane resigned from the legislature to become Mayor of Umkhanyakude. In May 2012, Dlungwana was additionally elected to a four-year term on the Provincial Executive Committee of the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the mainstream ANC. He was re-elected to a full term in his legislative seat in the 2014 general election, ranked 19th on the ANC's provincial
party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...
. The following year, he was elected Regional Chairperson of the ANC's Musa Dladla branch in Umgungundlovu District, succeeding
Super Zuma Bangokwakhe Madesius "Super" Zuma (born 1962) is a South African politician and former trade unionist who has served as KwaZulu-Natal's Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Agriculture and Rural Development since February 2023. He has re ...
, who had recently been elected ANC Provincial Secretary. Two years into the legislative term, in May 2016,
Willies Mchunu Willies Mchunu (born 11 May 1948) was the 7th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. He was previously a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for the Department of Transport, Community Safety, and Liaison in the province. He is a memb ...
took office as Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, and in June he announced a major cabinet reshuffle in which Dlungwana was appointed to the KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council as MEC for Education. Dlungwana retained that portfolio throughout Mchunu's premiership. Later, in June 2019, he was convicted of
contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
in relation to his activities as MEC: the
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 ...
Labour Court found that, while he was an MEC, he had failed to comply with a 2015
court order A court order is an official proclamation by a judge (or panel of judges) that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying out o ...
obliging his department to rectify a labour dispute with a public school employee. In the 2019 general election, Dlungwana was re-elected to the provincial legislature, ranked 22nd on the ANC's party list, but newly elected Premier
Sihle Zikalala Sihle Zikalala (born 6 August 1973) is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal who has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2023, representing the African National Congress. Before his redeployment to the National P ...
appointed
Kwazi Mshengu Kwazikwenkosi Innocent Mshengu (born 10 November 1984) is a South African lawyer and African National Congress politician who served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education in KwaZulu-Natal until 11 August 2022 when he was repl ...
to succeed him as MEC for Education. On 15 July 2019, after less than two months as an ordinary
Member of the Provincial Legislature Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) is a title given to the members of eight of the nine provincial legislatures in South Africa. The Western Cape provincial constitution specifies that its provincial legislature be given the title of "P ...
, Dlungwana resigned from the provincial legislature; his seat was filled by Themba Mtshali later that month.


References


External links

* Living people Members of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature African National Congress politicians 21st-century South African politicians 1976 births People from Nkandla Local Municipality University of KwaZulu-Natal alumni {{DEFAULTSORT:Dlungwana, Mthandeni