Sydney Mufamadi
Encyclopedia
Fholisani Sydney Mufamadi (born 28 February 1959) is a South Africa
n politician. He was Minister of Safety and Security
from 1994 to 1999 and Minister of Provincial and Local Government
from 1999 to 2008.
, the eldest of the four children of Masindi and Reuben Mufamadi. He grew up in Meadowlands, Gauteng
, and Tshisahulu, Venda
(today Limpopo Province), where he first looked after his grandfather's cattle before attending school. Both his father and mother worked in Johannesburg, selling home-brewed alcohol
ic beverages to supplement the family income. His mother was subsequently arrested for illegally selling alcohol, and thus he experienced the apartheid era legal system first-hand at an early age.
He holds a Master of Science degree in State, Society and Development from the University of London
, and is a Doctoral candidate there specializing in Political Economy of Automotive Manufacturing.
s in Venda during October 1977. Many student leaders were arrest
ed, and others, including Mufamadi, went underground. When the schools re-opened, he was refused re-admission and was briefly prevented from completing his school
ing. He moved to Johannesburg and enrolled at an international Correspondence College
.
In 1977, he joined the African National Congress
, the next year he was a founder member of the Azanian People's Organisation and in 1981 he joined the South African Communist Party
. His involvement in AZAPO led to two month's detention without trial at John Vorster Square, Johannesburg, under section 6 of the Terrorism Act.
In 1980, Mufamadi worked as a private teacher at Lamula Secondary School, Soweto
, where he assisted members of the Congress of South African Students with political activities. In 1981, he left the teaching profession to work as a messenger for a firm of attorneys
and subsequently joined the General and Allied Workers Union and participated in the 16 June stay-away that year. After his employer saw a newspaper clipping of Mufamadi addressing the workers, he was fired for taking part in political activities. He worked voluntarily for GAWU, and in 1982 and 1984 was elected General Secretary of the organisation. In 1983, he attended the launch of the United Democratic Front
in Cape Town
, and was later elected Transvaal
publicity secretary of the organisation, a position he held until 1990. In 1984 he was detained twice in the Ciskei
during April and again in September.
Following the successful Transvaal regional stayaway in November 1984, Mufamadi was subpoena
ed to appear as a state witness at the trial of some of its organisers. However, when some of the accused fled the country, charges were withdrawn and he was not called to testify. In 1985, when the state of emergency was declared, Mufamadi operated underground to avoid detention, resurfacing to help organise and attend the December 1985 launch of the Congress of South African Trade Unions
in Durban
, where he was elected Assistant General Secretary at its inaugural rally. He operated underground from June 1986 to October 1986, but openly resumed his work despite the continuing state of emergency. He was again detained on 8 June 1987 for political activities.
In June 1988, Mufamadi headed a planning committee to organise an anti-apartheid conference in Cape Town, which aimed to include delegates from a broad spectrum of anti-apartheid organisations. In September 1988, the government prohibited the conference and restricted the organisers of the conference from entering Cape Town for a ten-day period. In January 1990, he travelled with the Rivonia Trial
ists to Lusaka, Zambia
, to meet with the ANC Executive Committee. In 1991, he was elected to the party’s central committee, and was elected to the party’s National Executive Committee and to serve on its working committee at an ANC congress held in Durban
in July later that year. He did not stand for re-election as COSATU Assistant General Secretary that year. He was an SACP delegate at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa
working group
, which dealt with the future of the independent Bantustans, or homeland
s.
, Mufamadi was appointed as Minister of Safety and Security in the Government of National Unity until 1999, after having served on the sub-council on law and order of the Transitional Executive Council.
Mufamadi has been the Minister of Provincial and Local Government
since 17 June 1999. Following the resignation of President Mbeki in September 2008, Mufamadi was among those members of the Cabinet who submitted their resignations on September 23.
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n politician. He was Minister of Safety and Security
South African Ministry of Safety and Security
The Department of Police is one of the departments of the South African government. It oversees the South African Police Service and the Independent Complaints Directorate...
from 1994 to 1999 and Minister of Provincial and Local Government
South African Ministry of Provincial and Local Government
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is one of the ministries of the South African government...
from 1999 to 2008.
Early life
Mufamadi was born on 28 February 1959 in Alexandra Township, JohannesburgJohannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, the eldest of the four children of Masindi and Reuben Mufamadi. He grew up in Meadowlands, Gauteng
Meadowlands, Gauteng
Meadowlands is a suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa....
, and Tshisahulu, Venda
Venda
Venda was a bantustan in northern South Africa, now part of Limpopo province. It was founded as a homeland for the Venda people, speakers of the Venda language. It bordered modern Zimbabwe and South Africa, and is now part of Limpopo in South Africa....
(today Limpopo Province), where he first looked after his grandfather's cattle before attending school. Both his father and mother worked in Johannesburg, selling home-brewed alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
ic beverages to supplement the family income. His mother was subsequently arrested for illegally selling alcohol, and thus he experienced the apartheid era legal system first-hand at an early age.
Education
Mufamadi completed his schooling at Khwevha High School in Shayandima, Venda, in 1977.He holds a Master of Science degree in State, Society and Development from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, and is a Doctoral candidate there specializing in Political Economy of Automotive Manufacturing.
Anti-apartheid work
In 1976, with the spread of the Soweto uprising into other areas of the country, Mufamadi became a member of Zoutpansberg Students Organisation, which led to the boycottBoycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
s in Venda during October 1977. Many student leaders were arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
ed, and others, including Mufamadi, went underground. When the schools re-opened, he was refused re-admission and was briefly prevented from completing his school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
ing. He moved to Johannesburg and enrolled at an international Correspondence College
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
.
In 1977, he joined the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
, the next year he was a founder member of the Azanian People's Organisation and in 1981 he joined the South African Communist Party
South African Communist Party
South African Communist Party is a political party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa by the joining together of the International Socialist League and others under the leadership of Willam H...
. His involvement in AZAPO led to two month's detention without trial at John Vorster Square, Johannesburg, under section 6 of the Terrorism Act.
In 1980, Mufamadi worked as a private teacher at Lamula Secondary School, Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
, where he assisted members of the Congress of South African Students with political activities. In 1981, he left the teaching profession to work as a messenger for a firm of attorneys
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and subsequently joined the General and Allied Workers Union and participated in the 16 June stay-away that year. After his employer saw a newspaper clipping of Mufamadi addressing the workers, he was fired for taking part in political activities. He worked voluntarily for GAWU, and in 1982 and 1984 was elected General Secretary of the organisation. In 1983, he attended the launch of the United Democratic Front
United Democratic Front (South Africa)
The United Democratic Front was one of the most important anti-apartheid organisations of the 1980s. The non-racial coalition of about 400 civic, church, students', workers' and other organisations was formed in 1983, initially to fight the just-introduced idea of the Tricameral Parliament The...
in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, and was later elected Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
publicity secretary of the organisation, a position he held until 1990. In 1984 he was detained twice in the Ciskei
Ciskei
Ciskei was a Bantustan in the south east of South Africa. It covered an area of 2,970 square miles , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the Indian Ocean....
during April and again in September.
Following the successful Transvaal regional stayaway in November 1984, Mufamadi was subpoena
Subpoena
A subpoena is a writ by a government agency, most often a court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:...
ed to appear as a state witness at the trial of some of its organisers. However, when some of the accused fled the country, charges were withdrawn and he was not called to testify. In 1985, when the state of emergency was declared, Mufamadi operated underground to avoid detention, resurfacing to help organise and attend the December 1985 launch of the Congress of South African Trade Unions
Congress of South African Trade Unions
The Congress of South African Trade Unions is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the biggest of the country’s three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions, altogether organising 1.8 million workers.-Establishment:COSATU was established in...
in Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, where he was elected Assistant General Secretary at its inaugural rally. He operated underground from June 1986 to October 1986, but openly resumed his work despite the continuing state of emergency. He was again detained on 8 June 1987 for political activities.
In June 1988, Mufamadi headed a planning committee to organise an anti-apartheid conference in Cape Town, which aimed to include delegates from a broad spectrum of anti-apartheid organisations. In September 1988, the government prohibited the conference and restricted the organisers of the conference from entering Cape Town for a ten-day period. In January 1990, he travelled with the Rivonia Trial
Rivonia Trial
The Rivonia Trial was a trial that took place in South Africa between 1963 and 1964, in which ten leaders of the African National Congress were tried for 221 acts of sabotage designed to overthrow the apartheid system.-Origins:...
ists to Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
, to meet with the ANC Executive Committee. In 1991, he was elected to the party’s central committee, and was elected to the party’s National Executive Committee and to serve on its working committee at an ANC congress held in Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
in July later that year. He did not stand for re-election as COSATU Assistant General Secretary that year. He was an SACP delegate at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa
Convention for a Democratic South Africa
The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of negotiations between 1990 and 1993 and through unilateral steps by the de Klerk government. These negotiations took place between the governing National Party, the African National Congress, and a wide variety of other political...
working group
Working group
A working group is an interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers working on new research activities that would be difficult to develop under traditional funding mechanisms . The lifespan of the WG can last anywhere between a few months and several years...
, which dealt with the future of the independent Bantustans, or homeland
Homeland
A homeland is the concept of the place to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular national identity began. As a common noun, it simply connotes the country of one's origin...
s.
Government work
After the 1994 general electionSouth African general election, 1994
The South African general election of 1994 was an election held in South Africa to mark the end of apartheid, therefore also the first held with universal adult suffrage. The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission .Millions queued in lines over a three...
, Mufamadi was appointed as Minister of Safety and Security in the Government of National Unity until 1999, after having served on the sub-council on law and order of the Transitional Executive Council.
Mufamadi has been the Minister of Provincial and Local Government
South African Ministry of Provincial and Local Government
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is one of the ministries of the South African government...
since 17 June 1999. Following the resignation of President Mbeki in September 2008, Mufamadi was among those members of the Cabinet who submitted their resignations on September 23.