Sindisiwe Lydia Chikunga (born 9 November 1958) is a South African politician who is serving as the Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities since 2024. 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 ...

, she has been 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 2004. Chikunga had previously served as Deputy Minister of Transport twice, from 2012 to 2019 and again from 2021 to 2023, as Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration from 2019 until 2021, and as Minister of Transport from 2023 to 2024. She is a midwife by profession.

Early life and education

Chikunga was born in Muden 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 ...

. Her father was

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church pastor Rev Lucas Gcaba. During her childhood, her family frequently moved between towns, from Muden to Greytown and on to Kopleegte where she attended primary school. She holds a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and an

Honours degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, ...

in Curationis from the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA) is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, UNISA has over 400,000 student ...

as well as a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Curationis from the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

. From the Edendale Nursing College, she obtained both a Diploma in Midwifery and a Diploma in Nursing Science. At the time of her appointment as Minister of Transport in March 2023, she was studying for a master's degree in political sciences from the University of South Africa. Chikunga worked as a nurse in

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

Political career

Chikunga became a member of the DCO Makiwane Youth League in the 1980s. She has also held leadership positions in the

in Mpumalanga; she was an ''ex officio'' member of the ANC's Gert Sibande Regional Executive Committee (REC) and also served as chairperson and as deputy chairperson of the region. Chikunga was also an ''ex officio'' member of the Regional Executive Committee of the

African National Congress Women's League The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League, and it oscillated from ...

. She is a former member of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee in Mpumalanga. Chikunga became a Member of Parliament for the ANC in 2004. During her tenure as an ANC MP, she served on the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, the Joint Budget Portfolio Committee, the Portfolio Committee on Housing, the Committee on Auditor General as well as the Joint Standing Committee on Defence. From 2009 to 2012, Chikunga was chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police during which she frequently clashed with National Police Commissioner

Bheki Cele Bhekokwakhe "Bheki" Hamilton Cele (born 22 April 1952) was the South African Minister of Police from February 2018 to 17 June 2024. He was National Commissioner of the South African Police Service for two years, until misconduct allegations led ...

National government

On 12 June 2012, Chikunga was appointed as Deputy Minister of Transport by president

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...

during his cabinet reshuffle. She remained as Deputy Minister of Transport after Zuma announced a major overhaul of his cabinet after being sworn in for a second term as president in May 2014. After Zuma resigned as president and was succeeded by

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

in February 2018, Chikunga remained as Deputy Minister of Transport. Mrs Sindi Chikunga- African development conference in Japan

In March 2018, it was reported that Chikunga was allegedly refusing to return two of her old official cars, a

BMW X6 The BMW X6 is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV by German automaker BMW. The BMW X6 is the originator of the sports activity coupé (SAC), referencing its sloping rear roof design. It combines the attributes of an SUV (high ground clearance, al ...

and a BMW GT, even after the Transport Department bought her two new official cars, a

BMW X5 The BMW X5 is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by BMW. The X5 made its debut in 1999 as the E53 model. It was BMW's first SUV. At launch, it featured all-wheel drive and was available with either a manual or automatic gearbox. The secon ...

and a

Jaguar F-Type The Jaguar F-Type (X152) is a series of two-door, two-seater sports cars manufactured by British car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover under their Jaguar Cars marque from 2013 to 2024. The car's Jaguar Land Rover car platforms#D6a, JLR D6a platfor ...

. Chikunga was also accused of allowing a family member to fill up her petrol tank with the Avis petrol card of the state-hired car she was given. Following the 2019 general election, Chikunga was appointed as Deputy Minister of the Public Service and Administration portfolio by Ramaphosa, while Dikeledi Magadzi took over as Deputy Minister of Transport. Chikunga was reappointed as Deputy Minister of Transport in a cabinet reshuffle in August 2021. Following the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, she was appointed Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities.

Minister of Transport (2023–2024)

After the previous Minister of Transport,

Fikile Mbalula Fikile April Mbalula (born 8 April 1971) is a South African politician and current Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC) since December 2022. He was a cabinet minister between 2010 and 2023, most proximately as Minister of Tr ...

, was elected as Secretary-General of the African National Congress, a position which requires him to be at

Luthuli House Chief Albert Luthuli House in Johannesburg, more simply known as Luthuli House, is the headquarters of the African National Congress (ANC) and other subsidiary organizations. The name "Luthuli House" is frequently used as a metonym Metonymy ...

full-time, at the party's 55th National Conference held in December 2022, it became known that Mbalula would soon depart from government to take up the party position. Ramaphosa reshuffled his cabinet on 6 March 2023 during which he named Chikunga as Mbalula's successor as Transport Minister. Lisa Mangcu was appointed the new Deputy Minister of Transport. Chikunga and all the other newly appointed ministers and deputy ministers were sworn into office the following day by Chief Justice

Ray Zondo Raymond Mnyamezeli Mlungisi "Ray" Zondo (born 4 May 1960) is a South African jurist who served as the Chief Justice of South Africa from 1 April 2022 until his retirement on 31 August 2024. President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Zondo as South Af ...

in a ceremony at

Tuynhuys De Tuynhuys () is the office of the president of South Africa, located in Cape Town. The building The building has in various guises been associated with the seat of the highest political authority in the land for almost two and a half cen ...

. On 24 March 2023, Chikunga denied claims by 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 ...

, an opposition party, that she sabotaged their National Shutdown protest on 20 March by instructing bus companies to cancel their services and not transport EFF supporters wanting to attend the protest.

Robbery

On 6 November 2023, Chikunga was robbed at gunpoint by three masked individuals after her vehicle stopped along the N3 highway outside

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

to change a tyre that hit a deliberately planted spike. In a parliamentary inquiry, she said that the robbers forced her bodyguards onto the floor and opened the car door before pointing a gun at her head and forcing her out. The robbers took her laptop and phone, as well as other personal effects and two of her bodyguards' pistols.

Personal life

Chikunga's late husband's father was born in

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

. She had two sons with her husband. One of Chikunga's sons, his wife and their four children died in a car accident on the N11 highway between Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal on 17 July 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chikunga, Sindisiwe 1958 births Living people Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2024–2029 Women government ministers of South Africa Zulu people Ministers of transport of South Africa Women's ministers of South Africa Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2019–2024 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2009–2014 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2014–2019 Zulu women