Mzwandile McDonald Masala (20 February 1938 – 2 May 2023) was a South African politician 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 ...

. He represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1997 to 2004. He was the South African Ambassador to Zambia from 2004 to 2007. During apartheid, Masala was active in the ANC underground in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

. He joined Umkhonto we Sizwe in 1962 and was arrested in 1964 for his MK activities. He spent 11 years on Robben Island and upon his release was

banned A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meaning ...

. In later years, he was a founding member of the United Democratic Front, and he served as deputy provincial chairperson of the ANC's Eastern Cape branch from 1994 to 1996.

Early life and activism

Masala was born on 20 February 1938 in

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

in the former Cape Province. He joined the African National Congress (ANC) at an early stage of the anti-apartheid struggle after moving to

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

in his youth. In 1962, two years after the apartheid government banned the ANC, Masala went into exile to undergo military training with the ANC's new armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), in Ethiopia and Algeria. When he returned to South Africa in 1964 to carry out an MK operation in Soweto, he was arrested by the Security Branch and sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment on Robben Island. Upon his release from prison in 1976, he was subject to a

banning order __NOTOC__ This list of people subject to banning orders under apartheid lists a selection of people subject to a "banning order" by the apartheid-era South African government. Banning was a Political repression, repressive and Extrajudicial punis ...

which prohibited him from participating in political activities and banished him to the Ciskei bantustan. He nonetheless remained active in the ANC's underground structures and was a founding member of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in 1983. When the ANC was unbanned in 1990, he was involved in re-establishing its above-ground structures in the

, and he served as deputy provincial chairperson of the party's Eastern Cape branch from 1994 until 1996, when he was succeeded by

Stone Sizani Phumelele Stone Sizani (born 2 March 1954) is a South African politician who was, until his resignation on 2 March 2016, a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa and the African National Congress Chief Whip. It has been reported that upon ...

Career in government

In 1997, Masala joined the National Assembly, the lower house of the post-apartheid South African Parliament, where he filled a casual vacancy. He was re-elected to full terms in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, serving the Eastern Cape constituency. He resigned on 29 June 2004, ceding his seat to Peter Hendrickse. Masala left Parliament to join the diplomatic service, serving as South African Ambassador to Zambia from 2004 to 2007.

Retirement and death

After his retirement, Masala remained active in the ANC Veterans' League. In December 2012, he was among the MK members awarded military medals as members of the so-called Luthuli Detachment, the first generation of MK recruits in the 1960s. In October 2016, he was one of 101 ANC stalwarts who signed an open letter expressing concern about the direction of the ANC under President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

, among other things criticising the party's "departures from tsvalues" and inadequate response to indications of

state capture State capture is a type of systemic political corruption in which private interests significantly influence a state's decision-making processes to their own advantage. The term was first used by the World Bank, around the year 2000, to describe ...

. He died on 2 May 2023 in a hospital in Cape Town after a brief illness.

References

External links

Video of memorial service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Masala, Mzwandile African National Congress politicians 21st-century South African politicians 20th-century South African politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Anti-apartheid activists UMkhonto we Sizwe personnel Inmates of Robben Island Politicians from the Eastern Cape South African diplomats 1938 births 2023 deaths People from Alice, South Africa