Nozizwe Charlotte Madlala-Routledge (born 29 June 1952) is a South African politician who was South Africa's Deputy Minister of Defence from 1999 to April 2004 and Deputy Minister of Health from April 2004 to August 2007. President

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

dismissed her from the Cabinet on 8 August 2007, after which she maintained her role as a member of parliament representing 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 ...

. On 25 September 2008, she became Deputy Speaker of 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 ...

, serving in that capacity until resigning from Parliament in early May 2009. She has been a member of the

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...

since 1984.whoswhosa.co.za: Profile on Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge
retrieved 13 August 2007 Madlala-Routledge is well known for helping combat

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

in South Africa, and is considered by many to have resisted government denial of the severity of the epidemic. She was also an opponent of the use of

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...

treatments of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

in place of scientifically tested methods. More recently, Madlala-Routledge served for a short period as the executive director of Inyathelo: The South African Institute for Advancement until March 2015 when she resigned following problems with the board. In August 2021, it was announced that Madlala-Routledge would serve as the next director of the

Quaker United Nations Office The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) is a non-governmental organisation representing the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) at the United Nations in Geneva and New York City. Parent bodies of QUNO are the Friends World Committee for Consult ...

in Geneva.

Early life and education

Born on 29 June 1952 in Magog,

Umzumbe Umzumbe is a seaside resort situated at the mouth of the Mzumbe River ''(bad kraal)'' in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The name of the river is derived from a band of Hlongwa cannibals who occupied the valley. The Hlongwa was almost wiped out by ...

, Nozizwe Charlotte Madlala is a South African of Zulu descent and a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

. She was brought up by her single mother in what was formerly the

Zulu Kingdom The Zulu Kingdom (, ), sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or the Kingdom of Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa. During the 1810s, Shaka established a modern standing army that consolidated rival clans and built a large following ...

, now the southern region of the province of

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 ...

. After schooling at Magog Primary and Fairview Primary, she matriculated at the Inanda Seminary School in

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 ...

. She went on to study medicine at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

but was distracted by

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known ...

of the

Black Consciousness Movement The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was a grassroots anti-Apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African National Congress and Pan Afri ...

who involved her in student politics. After completing her first year, in 1971 she transferred to the

University of Fort Hare The University of Fort Hare is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to students from across sub ...

to study for a BSc Once again coming under Biko's influence, she ran into trouble in 1972 for participating in a student boycott. Refusing to apologize for her behaviour, she was dismissed. In 1991, she earned a diploma in adult education from the

. During her studies, she compiled a manual on Lay Care for the Elderly and wrote easy readers in the Zulu language for newly literate adults. She also obtained a diploma in medical technology, resulting in six years employment as a medical laboratory technologist. After a long interruption, in 2006 Madlala-Routledge took up her studies once more. In 2010, she graduated from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

in social science, with majors in philosophy and sociology.

Political career

Madlala-Routledge joined the underground

in 1979 and in 1983, she participated in establishing the

Natal Organisation of Women The Natal Organisation of Women (NOW) was a regional women's organization in South Africa in the KwaZulu-Natal, Natal area. NOW was founded in 1983 and affiliated with the United Democratic Front (South Africa), United Democratic Front (UDF). NOW in ...

, becoming its first chair. After a prolonged period of imprisonment without trial, including a year in solitary confinement, she joined the

, first as regional chair in Natal, later as a member of its central committee. In 1990, following the unbanning of political organisations, she became a member of the executive committee of the

Women's National Coalition The Women's National Coalition was established in South Africa in April 1992 as a national alliance of women's groups across the country. Women were represented from across the political, economic, racial, cultural and religious spectrum. The coali ...

. She also contributed to the work of the sub-council on the status of women and helped to prepare policy on the empowerment of women under the

Reconstruction and Development Programme Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) is a South African socio-economic policy framework implemented by the African National Congress (ANC) government of Nelson Mandela in 1994 after months of discussions, consultations and negotiations ...

. In 1993, she won a seat in the country's revamped parliament. On 17 June 1999, Madlala-Routledge became the first woman in South Africa to be appointed Deputy Minister of Defence. She held the post until April 2004, when she became Deputy Minister of Health. In that capacity, she strove relentlessly for more effective measures to combat AIDS which at the time was spreading rapidly and causing up to a thousand deaths per day. More than five million South Africans or 12% of the population were reported to be infected with

. She was strongly opposed by the minister

Manto Tshabalala-Msimang Mantombazana "Manto" Edmie Tshabalala-Msimang (née Mali; 9 October 1940 – 16 December 2009) was a South African politician. She was Deputy Minister of Justice from 1996 to 1999 and served as Minister of Health from 1999 to 2008 under Preside ...

who preferred to rely on African treatments such as garlic, beet root and African potatoes rather than modern drugs.

Dismissal as Deputy Minister of Health

On 8 August 2007 on the eve of

National Women's Day National Women's Day is a South African public holiday celebrated annually on 9 August. The day commemorates the 1956 march of approximately 20,000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to petition against the country's pass laws that requir ...

, Madlala-Routledge was removed from office as Deputy Minister of Health by President

.President Mbeki relieves Deputy Minister of Health
retrieved 10 August 2007 There was some speculation as to the specific reason of her dismissal at the time, given certain speculative elements. These included the long-term disharmony and disagreement on HIV/AIDS and other issues between herself and the Minister of Health (Dr.

);Mbeki to look at relations between Manto, deputy
retrieved 10 August 2007 her findings supporting a damning report by the ''Daily Dispatch'' on conditions in the

maternity ward Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births global ...

at Frere Hospital, which were contradicted by Tshabalala-Msimang and president Mbeki. More importantly, she had failed to receive approval for a trip to an AIDS conference in Spain, which was declined by president Mbeki after she had left.Deputy health minister defies Mbeki
retrieved 10 August 2007 Another factor was that in December 2006, she had described "denial at the very highest levels" over South Africa's policy on AIDS. A press release by the presidency failed to cite any reason for her dismissal, apparently because the president was not obliged to give any reason for sacking a minister. Madlala-Routledge later revealed in a press conference that the president had called a meeting asking for her to resign citing the unauthorised trip to an international AIDS conference in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

but she had declined. The next day she was officially dismissed. Her sacking was criticized by opposition parties and AIDS organisations. The

Treatment Action Campaign The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is a South African HIV/AIDS activist organisation which was co-founded by the HIV-positive activist Zackie Achmat in 1998. TAC is rooted in the experiences, direct action tactics and anti-apartheid background ...

commented: "This is a dreadful error of judgment that will harm public healthcare."

Background of dismissal

Clashes with the Health Minister over HIV/AIDS

The dismissal had come after a long period of repeated public clashes with the Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang over national HIV/AIDS policy.

Conflicting reports over Frere Hospital

The two ministers had also released conflicting reports over the conditions of the maternity ward at Frere hospital, 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 ...

province. Madlala-Routledge had reported that conditions at the maternity ward were a 'national disaster'. This was contradicted by Msimang, who reported that her deputy's comments were based on 'untruths', that the mortality rate at the hospital had been exaggerated, and that the infant death rates were 'in line with the national average'. These events were preceded by an exposé in the ''Daily Dispatch'' newspaper over the allegedly appalling conditions at the hospital. Madlala-Routledge first paid a visit to the hospital, which had not been scheduled nor communicated to the hospital, and after her report, Msimang subsequently paid a scheduled and announced visit to the hospital. Finally, writing in his weekly column, president Thabo Mbeki had defended Msimang's report on Frere Hospital and downplayed the ''Daily Dispatchs investigations as inflammatory, effectively dismissing the deputy minister's views.

'Unauthorised' trip to AIDS conference in Spain

Madlala-Routledge travelled to an international AIDS conference in Spain, which had received approval from the necessary departments but had been forwarded to the President for approval and thus, Presidential approval had not been granted at the time she made the trip. Ultimately, President Mbeki declined authorisation of the trip, which happened when she was already ''en route'' to Spain. Upon arrival, and being informed of the declination, Madlala-Routledge cancelled her visit to the conference and travelled home immediately. In a press conference after her dismissal, Madlala-Routledge stated that it is common for ministers to travel without receiving an approval answer from the presidency because ministers often leave at such short notice.

Political career following dismissal

In December 2007, she was elected to the ANC's National Executive Committee in 33rd place. From September 2008 to May 2009, she was deputy speaker of the

, after which she remained a member of parliament. Madlada-Routledge was appointed a parliamentary caucus chair of the African National Congress in 2008 but left the following year to study Social Science at the

, graduating in 2010. That year she became a co-founder of Embrace Dignity, a human rights organisation fighting sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. The organisation proposes that sex work itself be decriminalised, but that clients of sex workers become criminally liable. In April 2014 she launched the "Vote No" campaign alongside fellow ANC member and former government minister

Ronnie Kasrils Ronald Kasrils (born 15 November 1938) is a South African politician, Marxist revolutionary, guerrilla and military commander. He was Minister for Intelligence Services from 27 April 2004 to 25 September 2008. He was a member of the National E ...

. The campaign aimed to encourage people to cast

protest vote A protest vote (also called a blank, null, spoiled, or "none of the above" vote) is a vote cast in an election to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the choice of candidates or the current political system. Protest voting takes a variety of forms a ...

s or spoilt ballots in the 2014 general election as a protest against

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 ...

and the perceived corruption of his government. In June 2015 she became executive director of the South African Institute for Advancement (Inyathelo) but resigned in March 2016, protesting the payment of a golden handshake to one of the organisation's founders.

Personal life

Madlala-Routledge is married to Jeremy Routledge whom she met in the early 1980s. They have two sons, Martin and Simon. She resides in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. A

and former ANC and SA Communist Party underground operative in KwaZulu Natal, she was one of the four-strong SACP delegation to the Convention for a Democratic SA that negotiated the transition from

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

. Sacked deputy happily back where she began
/ref> She also served with

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

on the working group that drew up the constitutional framework.

Awards

Madlala-Routledge has received the Tanenbaum Peacemakers Award for her work in South Africa and has an honorary doctorate from

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducational ...

, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Madlala-Routledge, Nozizwe 1952 births Living people People from KwaZulu-Natal South African Communist Party politicians Anti-apartheid activists Christian communists South African Quakers African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa