Jackson Mphikwa Mthembu was a South African politician who served as Minister in the Presidency during Cyril Ramaphosa presidency from 2019 till his time of death. He was the national spokesperson of the ANC under President Nelson Mandela from 1995 – 1997, appointed to the same role again from 2009 – 2014. He served as the Chief Whip of the ANC in the National Assembly from 2016 up to the end of the 5th term of parliament in 2019.
Born and bred in Witbank (Emalahleni) in 1958, he was raised by ... moreJackson Mphikwa Mthembu was a South African politician who served as Minister in the Presidency during Cyril Ramaphosa presidency from 2019 till his time of death. He was the national spokesperson of the ANC under President Nelson Mandela from 1995 – 1997, appointed to the same role again from 2009 – 2014. He served as the Chief Whip of the ANC in the National Assembly from 2016 up to the end of the 5th term of parliament in 2019.
Born and bred in Witbank (Emalahleni) in 1958, he was raised by his grandmother and uncles in Kromkrans, a reserve for black people between Hendrina and Carolina in the then Transvaal. Mthembu started out as an ant-apartheid activist during the 70s when he was a student leader at Elukhanyisweni Secondary School in Witbank during the 1976 students’ Uprisings. Mthembu proceeded to the University of Fort Hare where he was expelled in 1980 because of his involvement in student activism. He helped set up two metal workers unions, Metal and Allied Workers Union (MAWU), the predecessor of the National Union of Metal Workers (NUMSA), when he worked in the steel industry which campaigned for better conditions for Black workers. Mthembu also led both the local branches of the National Education Crisis and the Detainees Parents’ Support Committee (DPSC), all affiliates of the United Democratic Front (UDF).
During the state of emergency in the 1980s, he was subjected to constant harassment and persecution by the security forces of the apartheid regime, resulting in several months of detentions without trial mostly in solitary confinement. He was charged with sabotage, treason and terrorism between 1986 and 1988, and tried together with 30 other activists from Witbank. The trial came to be known as the Bethal terrorism trial and he was acquitted. After this acquittal, the apartheid security police continued with his harassment and intimidation.
He was elected as the Deputy Regional Secretary of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the then PWV region (now Gauteng Province) under the leadership of the late Mama Albertina Sisulu. It was through his involvement with the South African Council of Churches (SACC) under the leadership of Rev. Frank Chikane that he joined the SWAPO solidarity campaign. The solidarity campaign was comprised of various civic groups including the religious community, business and taxi associations under the banner of the UDF. He was part of the UDF and the progressive forces leadership collective that supported SWAPO’s election campaign by providing, among others, minibus taxis to transport voters during the first democratic elections in what was then South West Africa (now Namibia). SWAPO won the elections which led to the liberation of the then South West Africa (Namibia) from apartheid South Africa.
After the unbanning of political parties in 1990, Mthembu led the Witbank branch of the ANC. Between 1990 and 1994 he worked fulltime as ANC spokesman in Mpumalanga and participated as ANC staff component at the CODESA negotiations. He served in several strategic roles including as a member of the ANC Mpumalanga Provincial Executive Committee. He was later appointed as MEC in Mpumalanga Province for Public Works, Roads and Transport serving under the successive Premierships of Matthew Phosa and Thabang Makwetla. Since 2007 Mthembu was part of the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC). Mthembu also chaired the ANC Caster Semenya Support Committee which included Winnie Mandela. The committee was tasked to give practical support to Caster Semenya against the inhumane treatment, abuse and discrimination she was subjected to by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF).
Despite his activism, Mthembu's life was also at times marked by controversy. During his tenure as transport MEC in Mpumalanga, he was criticised for spending R2.3m on 10 BMWs. In November 2017, Mthembu was criticised by some of his ANC colleagues who said he intentionally “colluded” with the DA to schedule a debate on state capture in parliament. A long-time ally of the Ramaphosa faction, Mthembu was seen to have deliberately defied former president Jacob Zuma and his own colleagues in the ANC caucus who had called for a more inclusive process to investigate state capture.
Mthembu died due to COVID-19 complications. He was married to Thembi Mthembu and had six children together. One of their children, 25-year-old Nokhwezi Mthembu, committed suicide on 20 March 2019 at their Pelican Park parliamentary village home in Cape Town.
