Mthandeni Dlungwana
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Mthandeni Eric Dlungwana (born January 1976), also spelled Dlungwane, is a South African politician who represented 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 ...
(ANC) in the
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is unicameral in its composition and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the leading party or coalition members ...
between 2011 and 2019. He was formerly
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...
's
Member of the Executive Council In South Africa, the Executive Council of a province is the cabinet of the provincial government. The Executive Council consists of the Premier and five to ten other members,'' Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996'', Chapter 6: "P ...
(MEC) for Education from 2016 to 2019 under Premier
Willies Mchunu Willies Mchunu (born 11 May 1948) was the 7th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. He was previously a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for the Department of Transport, Community Safety, and Liaison in the province. He is a mem ...
. Dlungwana was the Provincial Chairperson of the
ANC Youth League The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (N ...
in KwaZulu-Natal from May 2010 until October 2011, when his leadership corps was disbanded by the national league after he fell out with league president
Julius Malema Julius Sello Malema (born 3 March 1981) is a South African politician. He is the founder and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a communist political party known for the red berets and military-style outfits worn by its members. Be ...
. He is also a former Regional Chairperson of the ANC's Musa Dladla branch in Umgungundlovu District. He was dismissed from the KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council after the 2019 general election and he resigned from the legislature shortly afterwards in July 2019.


Early life and career

Dlungwana was born in rural eNqabeni in KwaNxamalala, Embubu Msunduzi Local Municipality [Pietermaritzburg in present-day
KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...
, then the Natal province The Province of Natal (), commonly called Natal, was a province of South Africa from May 1910 until May 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. During this period rural areas inhabited by the black African population of Natal were organised int ...
. His mother was a domestic worker and his father was a bus driver; Dlungwana became politically active under the influence of his father, who was a member of the United Democratic Front (South Africa)">United Democratic Front and
Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU or Cosatu) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the country's three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions.One Union ...
. In 2004, Dlungwana completed a
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in development studies and town planning at the
University of KwaZulu-Natal The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN; , ) is a public research university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University ...
. He was a local leader in 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 ...
(ANC), chairing his local branch of the party between 2001 and 2010.


Provincial ANC Youth League: 2010–2011

He rose to political prominence during his tenure as Provincial Chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the
ANC Youth League The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (N ...
(ANCYL). He formerly served as ANCYL Deputy Provincial Chairperson under
Mxolisi Kaunda Thomas Mxolisi Kaunda (born 13 September 1972) is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal serving as a Permanent Delegate to the National Council of Provinces since 2024. Prior to serving in parliament, he was the Mayor of the eThekwini Me ...
from 2008 to 2010, and he succeeded Kaunda as chair at a league elective conference held at the
University of KwaZulu-Natal The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN; , ) is a public research university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University ...
in late May 2010. He defeated Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu in the election and stood as part of a slate of candidates led by Provincial Secretary Bheki Mtolo, all of whom were elected to top leadership positions; the slate also included Yolanda Young,
Siboniso Duma Siboniso Armstrong Duma (born 13 December 1975) is a South African politician who is the provincial chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal. He is also Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Transport and Human Sett ...
, and, as Dlungwana's deputy,
Sindiso Magaqa Sindiso Magaqa (died 4 September 2017) was a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), he was assassinated while serving as a local councillor in Umzimkhulu Local Municipality. He was formerly ...
. After the election results were announced, opponents of Dlungwana's slate staged a walkout from the conference, claiming that there had been electoral irregularities. Dlungwana was initially an outspoken supporter of
Julius Malema Julius Sello Malema (born 3 March 1981) is a South African politician. He is the founder and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a communist political party known for the red berets and military-style outfits worn by its members. Be ...
, the incumbent President of the national ANCYL. However, in early October 2011, the Malema-led national leadership of the ANCYL disbanded the league's provincial leadership in KwaZulu-Natal, prematurely ending Dlungwana's term as Provincial Chairperson. The national leadership said that the provincial leadership corps had been disbanded due to ill discipline, but Dlungwana claimed that they were being victimised because they had endorsed Jacob Zuma for re-election as ANC President in 2012, thereby breaking with the national ANCYL's position. Dlungwana subsequently became critical of Malema. When fresh leadership elections were finally run in 2015, he was succeeded as ANCYL Provincial Chairperson by Thami Ngubane.


Provincial legislature: 2011–2019

On 14 September 2011, a fortnight before he was removed from his ANCYL office, Dlungwana was sworn in to an ANC seat in the
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. It is unicameral in its composition and elects the premier and the provincial cabinet from among the leading party or coalition members ...
, filling a
casual vacancy ''The Casual Vacancy'' is a novel written by British author J. K. Rowling, published worldwide by the Little, Brown Book Group on 27 September 2012. It was Rowling's first publication since the ''Harry Potter'' series, her first novel apart fr ...
created after the recent local elections when Jeff Vilane resigned from the legislature to become Mayor of Umkhanyakude. In May 2012, Dlungwana was additionally elected to a four-year term on the Provincial Executive Committee of the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the mainstream ANC. He was re-elected to a full term in his legislative seat in the 2014 general election, ranked 19th on the ANC's provincial
party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...
. The following year, he was elected Regional Chairperson of the ANC's Musa Dladla branch in Umgungundlovu District, succeeding Super Zuma, who had recently been elected ANC Provincial Secretary. Two years into the legislative term, in May 2016,
Willies Mchunu Willies Mchunu (born 11 May 1948) was the 7th Premier of KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. He was previously a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for the Department of Transport, Community Safety, and Liaison in the province. He is a mem ...
took office as
Premier of KwaZulu-Natal The premier of KwaZulu-Natal is the head of government of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The current premier of KwaZulu-Natal is Thami Ntuli, a member of the Inkatha Freedom Party. He took office on 18 June 2024. Functions In terms ...
, and in June he announced a major cabinet reshuffle in which Dlungwana was appointed to the KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council as MEC for Education. Dlungwana retained that portfolio throughout Mchunu's premiership. Later, in June 2019, he was convicted of
contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...
in relation to his activities as MEC: the
Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...
Labour Court A labor court (or labour court or industrial tribunal) is a governmental judiciary body which rules on labor or employment-related matters and disputes. In a number of countries, labor cases are often taken to separate national labor high courts. O ...
found that, while he was an MEC, he had failed to comply with a 2015
court order A court order is an official proclamation by a judge (or panel of judges) that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings. Such ruling requires or authorizes the carrying o ...
obliging his department to rectify a labour dispute with a public school employee. In the 2019 general election, Dlungwana was re-elected to the provincial legislature, ranked 22nd on the ANC's party list, but newly elected Premier
Sihle Zikalala Sihle Zikalala (born 6 August 1973) is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal who has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2023, representing the African National Congress. He was Minister of Public Works and Infr ...
appointed
Kwazi Mshengu Kwazikwenkosi Innocent Mshengu (born 10 November 1984) is a South African lawyer and African National Congress politician who served as the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education in KwaZulu-Natal until 11 August 2022 when he was repl ...
to succeed him as MEC for Education. On 15 July 2019, after less than two months as an ordinary
Member of the Provincial Legislature Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) is a title given to the members of eight of the nine provincial legislatures in South Africa. The Western Cape provincial constitution specifies that its provincial legislature be given the title of "P ...
, Dlungwana resigned from the provincial legislature; his seat was filled by
Themba Mtshali Themba Sibonelo Mtshali is a South African politician who has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature The KwaZulu-Natal Legislature is the primary legislative body of the South African pr ...
later that month.


References


External links

* Living people Members of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature African National Congress politicians 21st-century South African politicians 1976 births People from Nkandla Local Municipality University of KwaZulu-Natal alumni {{DEFAULTSORT:Dlungwana, Mthandeni