Loyiso Khanyisa Bunye Mpumlwana (died 23 December 2020) was a South African politician and advocate. A member of the

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 ...

, he was elected to 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 repr ...

in 2014. He served until the 2019 election, when he lost his seat. In 2020, he was elected to return to the assembly.

Career

Mpumlwana was an

underground operative during

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

. He worked closely with

Jeff Radebe Jeffrey Thamsanqa Radebe (born 18 February 1953) is a South African politician who was last appointed as Minister of Energy by Cyril Ramaphosa on 26 February 2018. He served in the government of South Africa as Minister in the Presidency from 20 ...

and Mazwi Yako. Mpumlwana later practised as an advocate.

First term in parliament

Mpumalwana was elected as a Member of Parliament at the

2014 South African general election General elections were held in South Africa on 7 May 2014, to elect a new National Assembly of South Africa, National Assembly and new Provincial legislature (South Africa), provincial legislatures in each province. It was the fifth election ...

. During the fifth parliament (2014–2019), he was a member of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation, the Constitutional Review Committee, and the Ad Hoc Joint Committee on Probing Violence Against Foreign Nationals. He was also the constituency contact at the ANC's constituency office in

Umtata Mthatha ( , ), alternatively rendered Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known ...

. In 2016, he applied for public protector but was not shortlisted by the ad hoc committee. The committee chose

Busisiwe Mkhwebane Busisiwe Mkhwebane is a South African advocate and prosecutor served as the 4th Public Protector of South Africa from October 2016 until her impeachment in September 2023. Following her impeachment, she served as a Member of the National Assem ...

. Mpumlwana openly supported Mkhwebane and dismissed calls for her removal. In August 2017, Mpumlwana was criticised for defending the alleged beating of

Gabriella Engels Gabriella may refer to: * Gabriella (given name), a feminine given name * ''Gabriella di Vergy'', an opera seria by Gaetano Donizetti (1826, revised 1838), and an opera by Mercadante (1828), based on the tragedy ''Gabrielle de Vergy'' by Dormont De ...

by Zimbabwean First Lady,

Grace Mugabe Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe (formerly Goreraza, Birth name, née Marufu; born 23 July 1965) is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur, politician and the widow of the late President Robert Mugabe. She served as the First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1996 until her hus ...

. He said that in African culture it was acceptable to beat up young people who misbehaved. In 2019, he stood for re-election at 126th on the ANC's national list. Due to the ANC's electoral decline, he lost his seat.

Candidacy for deputy public protector

In September 2019, he was a candidate for deputy public protector. The justice committee chose Kholeka Gcaleka.

Return to parliament

He was later elected to fill

Nomvula Mokonyane Nomvula Paula Mokonyane (born 28 June 1963) is a South African politician who is currently the First Deputy Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC). She was the first female Premier of Gauteng from 2009 to 2014 and subsequently ...

's seat in the National Assembly. He was sworn in on 12 June 2020. His swearing-in was conducted virtually because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The ANC welcomed his return to parliament. On 15 July 2020, he became a member of the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises.

Death

Mpumlwana died on 23 December 2020, from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. His brother-in-law Mncedisi Filtane also succumbed to the virus.Tragedy hits late UDM leader Mncedisi Filtane family as four more die of Covid-19
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References