Fezeka Sister Loliwe (17 August 1964 – 5 March 2018) was a South African politician and

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

member who served as a

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between 2014 and her death in 2018. She was chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Labour at the time of her death. Loliwe was also a member of the

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded on 12 February 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), and tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by t ...

and served on the party's Central Committee.

Early life and education

Loliwe was born on 17 August 1964 in the village of Frankfort outside King Williamstown in the present-day

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

. She attended Lennox Sebe College of Education (later renamed to Griffiths Mxenge College of Education), but was expelled as a student in 1986 due to her participation in anti-apartheid activities. She would later go on to earn her teaching qualification at the Dr WB Rubusana College of Education in

Mdantsane Mdantsane is a South African urban township situated 15 km away from East London and 37 km away from Qonce in the Eastern Cape. It is the second largest township in Eastern Cape and 17th largest in the Top 20 largest townships in So ...

outside

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

Political career

Involvement in SADTU

After training as a teacher, Loliwe became a member of the

South African Democratic Teachers Union The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) is the largest trade union for teachers in South Africa. It is allied to the African National Congress and is an affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). History The ...

. She was later elected a site steward and deputy secretary of a SADTU branch. Loliwe would soon move up the union's leadership ranks, becoming Provincial Deputy Secretary, acting provincial secretary, provincial secretary, before becoming SADTU's vice president for Sports, Arts and Culture.

Career in the African National Congress

Loliwe started her career in the

as the secretary of party's branch in King Williamstown. At the time of her death, she was a member of the party's Regional Executive Committee (REC) in the Dr WB Rubasana region.

Career in the SACP

Loliwe was a member of the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) and the Provincial Working Committee (PWC) of the

in the

until her election to the party's Central Committee in July 2012 at the party's 13th congress. She was re-elected to another five-year term on the Central Committee in July 2017 at the party's 14th congress.

Parliamentary career

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, Loliwe was elected to the

National Assembly of South Africa The National Assembly is the directly elected house of the Parliament of South Africa, located in Cape Town, Western Cape. It consists of four hundred members who are elected every five years using a party-list proportional representation sy ...

, ranked 11th on the ANC's regional-to-national list in the

. She was appointed to the Portfolio Committee on Labour after her swearing-in. In 2016, she became a member of the SABC Parliamentary Inquiry Ad Hoc Committee. In October of the following year, she was elected chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Labour after serving as the committee's whip for four years. Loliwe was also a whip of the ANC's caucus disciplinary committee.

Death

Loliwe died in a car accident on 5 March 2018 near the town of

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in the

. She had been en route in her

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to East London from her parliamentary constituency in

Fort Beaufort Fort Beaufort ( Xhosa: iBhofolo), officially renamed KwaMaqoma in March 2023, is a town in the Amatole District of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and had a population of 25,668 in 2011. The town was established in 1837 and became a mun ...

. She was in the process of overtaking another vehicle but lost control of her vehicle when she attempted to return to her lane. Her car left the road, travelled over a bridge before overturning and landing in a muddy riverbank. She was 53 years old at the time of her death. Her funeral was held on 11 March 2018. She was the second ANC MP to die within a month; the other being Beatrice Ngcobo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loliwe, Fezeka 1964 births 2018 deaths Xhosa people People from Qonce South African educators South African women educators Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2014–2019 African National Congress politicians South African Communist Party politicians South African communists