Sihle Lonzi (born 1997 or 1998) is a South African politician who has served as a

Member of the National Assembly of South Africa Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

since November 2024, representing the

Economic Freedom Fighters The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African communist and black nationalist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema, and his allies, on 26 July 20 ...

party, of which he led the party's student wing from 2022 until 2024.

Background and political career

Lonzi matriculated from the

South African College Schools The South African College Schools (colloquially often known as “SACS”) is a public English medium primary and high education institution situated in Newlands – part of the Southern Suburbs region of Cape Town in the Western Cape provinc ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

in 2015 where he served as

head boy The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...

and played for the school's first rugby team. After matriculating, he went on to study economics and philosophy at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

where he became involved with the

Rhodes Must Fall Rhodes Must Fall was a protest Social movement, movement that began on 9 March 2015, originally directed against a statue at the University of Cape Town (UCT) that commemorates Cecil Rhodes. The campaign for the statue's removal received glob ...

movement. He became allied with

Sinawo Thambo Sinawo Thambo (born 2 June 1996) is a South African politician from the Western Cape who has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2024, Thambo was the provincial chairperson of the EFF Student Command. In March 2022, he wa ...

and the two launched the EFF Students Command at the university. He served two terms on the UCT Student Representative Council and was the provincial spokesperson of the EFF Student Command. In July 2022, Lonzi was elected president of the EFF Students Command.

Parliamentary career

Following the resignation of

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 ...

as an EFF Member of Parliament in October 2024, the party selected Lonzi to fill her seat. He was sworn in on 14 November 2024. Shortly afterwards, he was appointed to serve on the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and the Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture. In January 2025, Lonzi introduced a private member’s bill to Parliament that aims to clear all student debt in South Africa. On 3 February 2025, EFF leader

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 ...

announced that the EFF Students Command had been dissolved and replaced by a newly formed youth command following a resolution passed at the party’s National Elective Conference in December 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lonzi, Sihle Living people 1990s births Alumni of South African College Schools Economic Freedom Fighters politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2024–2029 University of Cape Town alumni