Bulelani T. Ngcuka (pronounced ; born 2 May 1954) is a South African attorney, prosecutor and activist, who served as the first

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, and is the husband of former

Deputy President of South Africa The deputy president of South Africa is the deputy to the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa and is a member of the National Assembly and the Cabinet. The deputy president is constitutionally required to "assi ...

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (; born 3 November 1955), South African Government Information. is a South Africa, South African politician and former United Nations official, who served as the Executive Director of UN Women with the rank of Under-Secret ...

Early life and legal career

Bulelani Ngcuka, one of five siblings, was born in Middledrift, Eastern Cape and schooled in the former

Bantustan A Bantustan (also known as Bantu homeland, black homeland, black state or simply homeland; ) was a territory that the National Party administration of South Africa set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa (now N ...

Transkei Transkei (, meaning ''the area beyond he riverKei''), officially the Republic of Transkei ( xh, iRiphabliki yeTranskei), was an unrecognised state in the southeastern region of South Africa from 1976 to 1994. It was, along with Ciskei, a Ban ...

. He obtained his B.Proc at 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 ...

in 1977 and went to work for 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 ...

law firm of

Griffiths Mxenge Griffiths Mlungisi Mxenge (27 February 1935 – 19 November 1981) was born in KwaRayi, a rural settlement outside of King Williams Town, Eastern Cape. He was a civil rights lawyer, a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and a South Af ...

as an

articled clerk Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two years, but previously thre ...

in 1978. He finished his articles at GM Mxenge Law Firm in 1981, the same year Mxenge was assassinated by

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 ...

hit men. He spent eight months in solitary confinement in 1981 and was jailed for three years in 1982 for refusing to give evidence in the political trial of Patrick Maqubele and others. While in prison, he completed his LLB through

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

(Unisa). When Ngcuka was released in 1985, he left for

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and worked at the equality of human rights branch of

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

for two years. It was here that he married Phumzile Mlambo. They have a son, Luyolo. They also have four adopted children. On his return to South Africa, Ngcuka joined N.J Yekiso & Associates Law Firm 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 ...

. He set up his own firm, Partner Ngcuka & Martana Law Firm in 1989 but became increasingly involved in politics. He also helped set up the National Association of Democratic Lawyers, an alternative legal association to the established white law societies. From 1990 to 1994, he worked as a researcher at the Community Law Centre of the

University of the Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is a public research university in Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only. Other un ...

Political career

In 1987, Ngcuka became active in the United Democratic Front in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

and later became chairperson. He was again detained for organising the

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

birthday in 1988. The same year, he was elected onto the panel of the ''Independent Mediation Service of South Africa''. Ngcuka was also member of 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)'s delegation to

Codesa The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution ...

in 1991 and to the multi-party negotiations in Kempton Park from 1992 to 1993. Ngcuka was the leader of the ANC Preparatory Delegation to parliament from 1993 to 1994. In 1994, Ngcuka became a senator. From 1994 to 1997, he was the AN'Cs

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

in the Senate and in February 1997, he was elected permanent Deputy Chair of the

National Council of Provinces The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is the upper house of the Parliament of South Africa under the (post-apartheid) constitution which came into full effect in 1997. It replaced the former Senate, but is very similar to that body, and to ma ...

and was largely responsible for implementing the provisions of the Constitution relating to the council. He was chairperson of ''Joint committee on Human Rights Commission'' and member of the following committees: ''Joint Committee on Public Protector'', ''Steering Committee on Public Protector'', ''Steering committee on implementation of the new constitution'', ''Senate rules committee'', ''Senate select committee on Justice'', and the ''Judicial Services Commission''. On 16 July 1998, he was elected as the first National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), the head of the

National Prosecuting Authority The National Prosecution Authority (NPA) is the agency of the South African government responsible for state prosecutions. Under Section 179 of the Constitution and the National Prosecuting Authority Act of 1998, which established the NPA in 199 ...

, and by 1999 was an affiliate member of the International Association of Prosecutors. He resigned as NDPP in 2004. His wife,

, became the Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs in

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 ...

's cabinet, and later

Honors and awards

* Ngcuka was voted 89th in the Top 100 Great South Africans in 2004. * Master of Arts in International Relations -

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngcuka, Bulelani 1954 births Living people People from Mbhashe Local Municipality Xhosa people African National Congress politicians Members of the National Council of Provinces Anti-apartheid activists 20th-century South African lawyers University of Fort Hare alumni University of South Africa alumni University of the Western Cape faculty 21st-century South African lawyers