Khayisa Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni (1913–2010) was a chief in

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. He was hugely respected in

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi ...

and a revered figure among his people in Ntabazinduna.. He became a chief of the Matebele people of Ntabazinduna and Mbembezi in 1939. He was a direct descendant of

Gundwane Ndiweni Gundwane "Mkhaliphi" Ndiweni, (also known as Khondwane Ndiweni) was a military leader and the first Paramount Chief of Matabeleland. He is credited for founding modern day Matabeleand and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. He set up the first of the four capital ...

, the Ndebele leader of the Nguni group that split from King

Mzilikazi Mzilikazi Moselekatse, Khumalo ( 1790 – 9 September 1868) was a Southern African king who founded the Mthwakazi Kingdom now known as Matebeleland, in Zimbabwe. His name means "the great river of blood". He was born the son of Mashobane kaMan ...

Political Parties ZUPO & UNFP

He was a leading figure in the Zimbabwe United People's Organisation (ZUPO) party in the late 1970s. He left in 1979 to found the

United National Federal Party United National Federal Party (UNFP) was a political party in Zimbabwe, formed in November 1978 by Chief Kayisa Ndiweni,. who had been a leading figure in the Zimbabwe United People's Organisation Zimbabwe United People's Organisation (ZUPO) ...

. This was a federalist party which had separatist tendencies. His party won nine seats in the 1979 election but didn't win any in 1980. His party was the only other Black party to win common roll seats. UNFP won 194,446 votes, or 10.97 percent of the vote,85 and were most successful in Matabeleland North and South. This was the first election that allowed all Black Zimbabweans to vote.

Public Service & Lancaster House Conference

He served as the Minister for Works in the government of

Abel Muzorewa Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa (14 April 1925 – 8 April 2010), also commonly referred to as Bishop Muzorewa, was a Zimbabwean bishop and politician who served as the first and only Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia from the Internal Settlement to ...

in 1979 to 1980. He attended the 1979 Lancaster House Conference in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where Zimbabwe's independence from white minority rule was negotiated. There he advocated for a federation to be created in Zimbabwe which would see Zimbabwe divided into sub-regions. He was an advocate of a federal state for Zimbabwe and a strong critic of the style of governance of

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...

MDC

He was later linked to Zimbabwe's main political opposition party, MDC alliance and played a role in its foundation. Chief Ndiweni and his wife Agnes Masuku were advisors to the founding members of the

Movement for Democratic Change Movement for Democratic Change or MDC may refer to: * Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC–T), the former main opposition party in Zimbabwe ** Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai Congress 2006, the second MDC–T congres ...

Personal life

He died in 2010 age 97. He was married to Agnes Masuku. His son is Zimbabwean activist Chief

Nhlanhlayamangwe Felix Ndiweni Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Felix Ndiweni (born 1963) is a Ndebele traditional leader from Zimbabwe who is known as one of the few traditional leaders to speak out against the ZANU-PF government. He is a Chief in the Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe. ...

. His grand-daughter

Mimi Ndiweni Mimî Michelle Ndiweni (born 31 August 1991), since 2021 credited as Mimî M. Khayisa, is a British-Zimbabwean actress. She is best known for playing Fringilla Vigo in Netflix's ''The Witcher'', Tilly Brockless in the television series ''Mr S ...

is a famous British actress.Ndebele paramount chief, Khayisa Ndiweni dies aged 97
He is a descendant of Paramount Chief

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ndiweni, Kayisa Zimbabwean politicians 1913 births 2010 deaths Rhodesian politicians