Enos John Nganani Mabuza (6 June 1939 – 13 December 1997) was born at Sheba gold mine in Barberton on June 6, 1939. He attended school up to Standard eight and thereafter obtained a primary teacher's diploma in Vryheid,

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

. He then studied privately for his

matric Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

, and in 1978 received an honours degree in psychology through

UNISA The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

. Mabuza also served as chief executive councillor (23 June 1977 to 18 June 1982 and 9 December 1982 to 31 August 1984) and

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

(31 August 1984 to 1 April 1991) of the

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 ...

KaNgwane KaNgwane () was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Swazi people. It was called the "Swazi Territorial Authority" from 1976 to 1977. In September 1977 it was renamed KaNgwan ...

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 ...

Career

Mabuza was a teacher by profession and he loved English grammar and he was known for being a perfectionist. He also contributed a lot in the development of the

siSwati language The Swazi or siSwati language is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Eswatini and South Africa by the Swati people. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 2.4 million. The language is taught in Eswatini and s ...

in schools. In 1969 he was appointed headmaster at Khumbula secondary school in White River in the

Eastern Transvaal Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

. Three years later he was appointed an inspector, of schools, and five years later he left education for politics a controversial step at the time to become leader of the then fledgling Kangwane legislative assembly. That move led to his founding of the Inyandza Movement, which was to bring about political organisation and cohesion, which had been lacking in the area at the time.

Inyandza Movemenent

The Inyandza Movement played a critical role in preventing attempts by the South African government to incorporate the KaNgwane homeland into Swaziland. He took the South African apartheid government to court and won and this brought Mabuza national prominence. He made common cause with the

Inkatha Freedom Party The Inkatha Freedom Party ( zu, IQembu leNkatha yeNkululeko, IFP) is a right-wing political party in South Africa. The party has been led by Velenkosini Hlabisa since the party's 2019 National General Conference. Mangosuthu Buthelezi founded t ...

(IFP), as the territory of Ngwavuma in Northern Natal was also under threat of incorporation. His relationship with the IFP ended acrimoniously when Mabuza, in defiance of

Mangosuthu Buthelezi Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi (born 27 August 1928) is a South African politician and Zulu traditional leader who is currently a Member of Parliament and the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family. He was Chief Minister of the ...

, led a delegation to meet the

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installe ...

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

. After the 1990 unbanning of political parties, Inyandza merged into the ANC and Mabuza promptly resigned from active politics and entered the corporate world. Mabuza succumbed from pancreas cancer in 1997.

References

Relevant literature

*Sarimana, Ashley. 2011. ''Trials and triumphs in public office: the life and work of E J N Mabuza.'' Rhodes University: Doctoral dissertation. 1939 births 1997 deaths People from Barberton, Mpumalanga South African people of Swazi descent Chief ministers of South African bantustans {{Mpumalanga-politician-stub