Lindiwe Sisulu

Lindiwe Sisulu
Sisulu in 2018
Minister of Tourism
In office 5 August 2021 – 6 March 2023
President	Cyril Ramaphosa
Preceded by	Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane
Succeeded by	Patricia de Lille
Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation
In office 30 May 2019 – 5 August 2021
President	Cyril Ramaphosa
Preceded by	Portfolio established
Succeeded by	Portfolio abolished
Prior cabinet offices 2001–2019 Minister of International Relations and Cooperation In office 27 February 2018 – 29 May 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa Deputy Reginah Mhaule Preceded by Maite Nkoana-Mashabane Succeeded by Naledi Pandor Minister of Human Settlements In office 26 May 2014 – 26 February 2018 President Jacob Zuma Cyril Ramaphosa Preceded by Connie September Succeeded by Nomaindia Mfeketo Minister of Public Service and Administration In office 12 June 2012 – 25 May 2014 President Jacob Zuma Preceded by Roy Padayachie Succeeded by Collins Chabane Minister of Defence In office 10 May 2009 – 12 June 2012 President Jacob Zuma Preceded by Charles Nqakula Succeeded by Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula Minister of Housing In office 29 April 2004 – 10 May 2009 President Thabo Mbeki Kgalema Motlanthe Preceded by Rob Davies Succeeded by Tokyo Sexwale (for Human Settlements) Minister of Intelligence In office 24 January 2001 – 28 April 2004 President Thabo Mbeki Preceded by Joe Nhlanhla Succeeded by Ronnie Kasrils
Member of the National Assembly
In office 27 April 1994 – 15 March 2023
Personal details
Born	Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu (1954-05-10) 10 May 1954 Johannesburg, Transvaal Union of South Africa
Political party	African National Congress
Spouse(s)	Xolile Guma ​ (divorced)​ Rok Ajulu ​ (died 2016)​
Parent(s)	Walter and Albertina
Education	Waterford Kamhlaba
Alma mater	University of Swaziland (BA) University of York (MA, MPhil)
Military service
Allegiance	Umkhonto We Sizwe

Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu (born 10 May 1954) is a South African politician. She represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly of South Africa between April 1994 and March 2023. During that time, from 2001 to 2023, she served as a minister in the cabinets of four consecutive presidents. President Cyril Ramaphosa sacked her from his cabinet in March 2023, precipitating her resignation from the National Assembly.

Sisulu previously served as Minister of Housing (2004 to 2009), as Minister of Defence and Military Veterans (2009 to 2012), Minister of Public Service and Administration (2012 to 2014), Minister of Human Settlements from (2014 to 2018), Minister of International Relations and Cooperation (2018 to 2019), Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation (2019 to 2021) and Minister of Tourism (2021 to 2023). She remains a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee, where she has served since 1997.

Early life and career

Sisulu was born on 10 May 1954 in Johannesburg. She had three elder brothers – Max, Mlungisi, and Zwelakhe – and a younger sister named Nonkululeko. Their parents, Walter and Albertina Sisulu, were prominent anti-apartheid activists; Walter was the secretary-general of the African National Congress (ANC) in 1954, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment ten years later in the Rivonia Trial. During her childhood, Sisulu therefore corresponded with her father by post; after the first moon landing, she wrote to tell him that she hoped to become "the first African woman in space" and he encouraged her to pursue her ambition.

Having attended boarding school since childhood, Sisulu completed high school outside South Africa at St Michael's School and Waterford Kamhlaba in neighbouring Swaziland. She graduated in 1973 with the Cambridge General Certificate of Education: Advanced Level. She studied Latin in school, intending to pursue a legal education in Britain, but was a denied a passport. Instead, she enrolled in a history and politics degree at the University of Swaziland. During this period, to her mother's disapproval, she became interested in Black Consciousness politics.

Detention: 1976–1977

On 13 June 1976, at home in Johannesburg between semesters, Sisulu was arrested by the South African Police on suspicion of association with the banned ANC. She was detained without trial under the Terrorism Act for the next eleven months, held in jails at John Vorster Square, Hartbeespoort, Nylstroom, and the Pretoria Central Prison. Under interrogation, she suffered electric torture, sexual torture, and isolation; she was also told, falsely, that her family members had died or been arrested. Her father, himself still imprisoned, wrote a lengthy letter to Jimmy Kruger, the Minister of Justice, noting her depression and expressing concern that "the sins of her parents are being visited on her head". Her mother later said that Sisulu was "terribly affected" by her torture. She was released from detention in July 1977 and, shortly afterwards, she left South Africa to live permanently in exile.

Exile: 1977–1990

After a sojourn with Ruth First in Maputo, Mozambique, Sisulu joined Umkhonto we Sizwe, the exiled military wing of the ANC, later in 1977. Over the next two years, she received military training under its auspices, with a specialism in military intelligence; according to her official résumé, she was admitted to the Order of the Red Star for her performance on a Soviet training course. In 1980, she returned to Swaziland, where she continued her work for the ANC and where she resumed her education: she completed her BA at the University of Swaziland, followed by diploma in education in 1980 and an Honours in history in 1981.

She spent her early career in education in Swaziland, teaching at Manzini Central High School in 1981 and at the University of Swaziland's history department in 1982; she was also a sub-editor for the Mbabane-based Times of Swaziland in 1983. From 1983 to 1984, she lived in England on an Oppenheimer Scholarship, completing an MA in history at the University of York's Centre for Southern African Studies. She returned briefly to Swaziland from 1985 to 1987, working at Manzini Teachers Training College, but then returned to York to complete her MPhil. Her MPhil thesis, completed in 1989, was entitled, "Women at Work and Liberation Struggle in South Africa". According to her résumé, the degree was upgraded to a DPhil in the same year.

Return to South Africa: 1990

Sisulu returned to South Africa in April 1990 amid the negotiations to end apartheid; her father, recently released from prison, met her at Jan Smuts Airport in Johannesburg. For the next three years, she worked for the ANC, which had been unbanned by the apartheid government; she was personal assistant to Jacob Zuma, who was then the chief of the ANC's intelligence department, in 1990; the ANC's chief administrator at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa in 1991; and an administrator in the ANC's intelligence department in 1992. Later in 1992, she worked briefly as a consultant to the UNESCO National Children's Rights Committee, and in 1993 she was the director of the Govan Mbeki Research Fellowship at the University of Fort Hare. Finally, in late 1993, she returned to ANC work as a member of Transitional Executive Council's sub-council on intelligence.

Career in government

First Parliament: 1994–1999

When South Africa's first post-apartheid elections were held in April 1994, Sisulu was elected to represent the ANC in the National Assembly, the lower house of the new South African Parliament. In 1995, when the Intelligence Control Act created Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, she was elected to chair the committee.

However, in June 1996 – less than a year into her tenure as committee chairperson – Sisulu was promoted to the position of Deputy Minister of Home Affairs in President Nelson Mandela's Government of National Unity. She ultimately held that position from June 1996 to January 2001, and she deputised Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the leader of the opposition Inkatha Freedom Party. While serving as Deputy Minister, Sisulu attended the ANC's 50th National Conference in Mafikeng in December 1997, at which she was elected for the first time to the party's National Executive Committee.

Second Parliament: 1999–2004

After the 1999 general election, newly elected President Thabo Mbeki initially retained Sisulu and Buthelezi in the Home Affairs portfolio. In January 2001, however, he announced a cabinet reshuffle which saw Sisulu join the cabinet as Minister of Intelligence, replacing Joe Nhlanhla. In December 2002, the ANC's 51st National Conference additionally elected her to a second term as a member of the National Executive Committee; by number of votes received, she was the 13th-most popular candidate of the 60 ordinary members elected to the committee.

Third Parliament: 2004–2009

After the 2004 general election, Sisulu was appointed as Minister of Housing in Mbeki's second cabinet. She served in that portfolio from April 2004 to May 2009, throughout Mbeki's second term and throughout the brief term of Mbeki's successor, President Kgalema Motlanthe.

Lindiwe Sisulu's flagship housing project called the N2 Gateway has been embroiled in a number of controversies. Residents in Joe Slovo Informal Settlement adamantly refused to be relocated to Delft, Cape Town, to make way for government bond and free houses. After a protest by Joe Slovo residents, Sisulu drew significant criticism from civic groups for saying "if they choose not to cooperate with government, they will be completely removed from all housing waiting lists." A spate of letters exchanged between Sisulu and UWC Professor Martin Legassick also received attention because Legassick called into question Sisulu's refusal to meet directly with the residents of Joe Slovo.

In December 2007, the N2 Gateway also was host to the largest illegal occupation of houses in the country's history. The result has been the displacement of thousands of families into Temporary Relocation Areas and onto the pavement in Symphony Way.

Fourth Parliament: 2009–2014

While Minister of Defence, she appointed Tony Yengeni to the Defense Review Committee.

In September 2009, she appointed Paul Ngobeni as her legal advisor. This appointment was immediately challenged from various quarters, including Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and the Standing Committee on Defense, because he is not qualified to practice law in South Africa and has been disbarred from practicing law in the US where he also faces criminal charges for fraud, larceny and petty theft.

Sisulu became embroiled in a controversy in November 2012 when Parliament accused her of over-using executive jet flights during her tenure as Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. She was accused of making 203 trips with the South African Air Force rented Gulfstream plane, however due to administrative failures, this figure was incorrect and an apology was issued afterward. She had actually only made 35 trips.

In April 2013, she appointed Menzi Simelane as her legal advisor. In a judgement (in October 2012) finding him unfit to be appointed as head of the National Prosecuting Authority, Constitutional Court Judge Zac Jacoob said "[We] conclude that the evidence was contradictory and on its face indicative of Mr. Simelane's honesty. It raises serious questions about Mr. Simelane's conscientiousness, integrity, and credibility."

Fifth Parliament: 2014–2019

Presidential campaign

Sisulu has long been considered a potential presidential candidate, having passed on running in 2007 and 2012, she announced her presidential campaign on July 21 at Walter Sisulu square in Kliptown, where the Freedom Charter was adopted. Sisulu adopted the slogan "It's a Must" where she called on supporters to join her in a "must do" campaign. Upon announcing her intention to run for president, she said: "What we must do is to cleanse the ANC and recover its original values". On 15 December 2017, Sisulu withdrew from the presidential contest, choosing instead to run for the position of Deputy President. She was defeated by David Mabuza.

International relations

When President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his reshuffled cabinet, Sisulu was moved from the Department of Human Settlements to the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, replacing Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.

Sixth Parliament: 2019–2023

In January 2022, she published a controversial opinion piece with the IOL which where criticized by some to be attacking country's judiciary .The Chief Justice Raymond Zondo took the rare decision to publicly respond to political discourse in the country and held a media briefing in which he said that it was not proper for then Minister Sisulu as a high ranking government official to make such remarks about the country's judiciary which he claimed contained only accusations and insults and not based on facts. The controversy also led to then Minister Sisulu having to meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa which afterwards the presidency claimed in a statement that's Ms. Sisulu had apologized for her remarks. A claim which Ms. Sisulu denied only generating more attention on the controversy.

At the ANC's next national congress, the 55th National Conference in December 2022, Sisulu was re-elected to another term in the National Executive Committee. However, in his next cabinet reshuffle on 6 March 2023, Ramaphosa sacked Sisulu from the cabinet, appointing Patricia de Lille to replace her as Minister of Tourism. Sisulu announced soon afterwards that she would not serve as an ordinary Member of Parliament but would instead resign from the National Assembly. She left her seat on 15 March.

Awards

• 1992: Human Rights Center Fellowship in Geneva.
• 2004: Presidential Award for Housing delivery by the Institute for Housing of South Africa.
• 2005: International Association for Housing Science Award.

Personal life

Sisulu's first husband was South African economist Xolile Guma, whom she married in exile; they had their first child together out of wedlock in December 1975. After their divorce, she remarried to Rok Ajulu, a Kenyan academic who died of pancreatic cancer in December 2016 and with whom she also had children. In 2022, Sisulu said that she had herself been treated for cancer.

External links

• Ms Lindiwe Sisulu at People's Assembly