Nelson Ramodike

Last updated
Nelson Ramodike
Died3 May 2012
NationalitySouth African
OccupationLebowa government chief minister
OrganizationLebowa People's Party

Mogoboya Nelson Ramodike (died 3 May 2012) was a South African politician who served as Chief Minister of Lebowa, an apartheid-era bantustan, from 21 October 1987 to 26 April 1994. He subsequently represented the United Democratic Movement in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2003.

Contents

Background

Ramodike is a former traffic police officer [1] turned politician who began his political activism with Lebowa People's Party in the 1980s. He became chief minister after the death of then chief minister of the Lebowa government Cedric Phatudi. [2]

Political affiliation

Ramodike is referred to as a conformist for disbanding his political party, the Lebowa People's Party, to form the United People's Front in order to pave the way for participation in the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA). [3] He often addressed traditional leadership about political developments in the Lebowa Bantustans. For example, Ramodike addressed the Hananwa traditional authority at a rally. [4] Nelson Ramodike was a member of the United Democratic Front, and later joined the African National Congress for a place in the CODESA negotiations before the 1994 South African general election. [5]

After the 1994 elections, Ramodike joined the United Democratic Movement (UDM); he won election to a UDM seat in the National Assembly in the 1999 general election, representing the Limpopo constituency. [6] He also served as spokesperson for the UDM. [7] However, he resigned from the UDM and therefore from Parliament in early 2003 in order to establish his own political party, the Alliance for Democracy and Prosperity. [8] [9] He quit politics due to illness in May 2007. [10]

Corruption allegations

The De Meyer report presented allegations of corrupt activities in the Lebowa government, with Nelson Ramodike accused of involvement in two illegal liquor licenses. [11] Nelson Ramodike was allegedly involved in corruption activities that involved running state funded business through proxies such as cousins and brothers. [12]

Court cases against government

During his tenure as chief minister, Ramodike introduced a statute referred to as the Lebowa Mineral Act (LMT). As legislation during the Bantustans period, the LMT sought to place land rights under the former Lebowa administration and mineral rights to the people in the locality. The LMT was later referred to as controversial post 1994, where several debates and discussions took place among members of the Parliament of South Africa. Through these debates and discussions, it was resolved that the LMT should be abolished because it referred to land rights and mineral rights of a state that was no longer in existence in democratic South Africa. [13] In response to a bill [14] to abolishment of the Lebowa Mineral Act and Trust, Ramodike lodged a court challenge against the government of the African National Congress in the early 2000s. The court case was lost to former President Thabo Mbeki on 7 April 2001. [15]

Death

Nelson Ramodike died on 3 May 2012 at Tzaneen Mediclinic in Limpopo. [16] Former Limpopo province premier Cassel Mathale lauded Nelson Ramodike for his role in the liberation struggle of South Africa.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African National Congress</span> Political party in South Africa

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 first post-apartheid election resulted in Nelson Mandela being elected as President of South Africa. Cyril Ramaphosa, the incumbent national President, has served as President of the ANC since 18 December 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mpumalanga</span> Province in South Africa

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 borders with the South African provinces of Limpopo to the north, Gauteng to the west, the Free State to the southwest, and KwaZulu-Natal to the south. The capital is Mbombela.

Kgosi Lucas Manyane Mangope was the leader of the Bantustan (homeland) of Bophuthatswana. The territory he ruled over was distributed between the Orange Free State – what is now Free State – and North West Province. He was also the founder and leader of the United Christian Democratic Party, a political party based in the North West of South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Christian Democratic Party</span> Political party in South Africa

The United Christian Democratic Party is a minor political party in South Africa. It was founded by Lucas Mangope, leader of the Bophuthatswana bantustan in 1997, as a successor to the Tswana National Party, and led by him for the first fifteen years of its existence. Mavis Matladi was elected as its leader on 29 January 2011 after the expulsion of Mangope. Matladi died in December 2011. Isaac Sipho Mfundisi was elected president on Saturday, 7 January 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Democratic Movement</span> Political party in South Africa

The United Democratic Movement (UDM) is a centre-left, social-democratic, South African political party, formed by a prominent former National Party leader, Roelf Meyer, a former African National Congress and Transkei homeland leader, General Bantu Holomisa, and a former ANC Executive Committee member, John Taylor. It has an anti-separatist, pro-diversity platform; and supports an individualist South Africa with a strong moral sense, in both social and economic senses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mangosuthu Buthelezi</span> South African politician (1928–2023)

Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi was a South African politician and Zulu prince who served as the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family from 1954 until his death in 2023. He was appointed to this post by King Bhekuzulu, the son of King Solomon kaDinuzulu, a brother to Buthelezi's mother Princess Magogo kaDinuzulu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaiser Matanzima</span> South African politician (1915–2003)

Chief Kaiser Daliwonga Matanzima, often misspelled as Mathanzima, was the long-term leader of Transkei. In 1950, when South Africa was offered to establish the Bantu Authorities Act, Matanzima convinced the Bhunga to accept the Act. The Bhunga were the council of Transkei chiefs, who at first rejected the act until 1955 when Matanzima persuaded them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lebowa</span> Former bantustan in South Africa

Lebowa was a bantustan ("homeland") located in the Transvaal in northeastern South Africa. Seshego initially acted as Lebowa's capital while the purpose-built Lebowakgomo was being constructed. Granted internal self-government on 2 October 1972 and ruled for much of its existence by Cedric Phatudi, Lebowa was reincorporated into South Africa in 1994. It became part of the Limpopo province. The territory was not contiguous, being divided into two major and several minor portions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cedric Phatudi</span>

Dr Cedric Namedi Phatudi was the Chief Minister of Lebowa, one of the South African bantustans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulelani Ngcuka</span> South African attorney, prosecutor and activist

Bulelani T. Ngcuka is a South African attorney, prosecutor and activist, who served as the first Director of Public Prosecutions in South Africa, and is the husband of former Deputy President of South Africa Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bantu Holomisa</span> South African politician

Bantubonke Harrington Holomisa is a South African politician. He is a member of parliament for and president of the United Democratic Movement. and the current Deputy Minister of Defence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa</span> 1990–93 summits to end formal segregation and racial discrimination policies

The apartheid system in South Africa was ended through a series of bilateral and multi-party negotiations between 1990 and 1993. The negotiations culminated in the passage of a new interim Constitution in 1993, a precursor to the Constitution of 1996; and in South Africa's first non-racial elections in 1994, won by the African National Congress (ANC) liberation movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of South Africa (1994–present)</span> Aspect of history since the end of apartheid

South Africa since 1994 transitioned from the system of apartheid to one of majority rule. The election of 1994 resulted in a change in government with the African National Congress (ANC) coming to power. The ANC retained power after subsequent elections in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019. Children born during this period are known as the born-free generation, and those aged eighteen or older, were able to vote for the first time in 2014.

Joel Netshitenzhe is a South African politician and strategist, known for his policy and communications work for the African National Congress (ANC). He served as head of communications under President Nelson Mandela (1994); head of Government Communication and Information System (1998–2006); and head of the policy unit in the Presidency (2001–2009) under Presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, though he was viewed as a particularly close ally of Mbeki's. A former anti-apartheid activist, Netshitenzhe was a member of the ANC National Executive Committee between 1991 and 2022, and he was a member of the ANC's delegation to the negotiations that ended apartheid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congress of the People (South African political party)</span> Political party in South Africa

The Congress of the People (COPE) is a South African political party formed in 2008 by former members of the African National Congress (ANC). The party was founded by former ANC members Mosiuoa Lekota, Mbhazima Shilowa and Mluleki George to contest the 2009 general election. The party was announced following a national convention held in Sandton on 1 November 2008, and was founded at a congress held in Bloemfontein on 16 December 2008. The name echoes the 1955 Congress of the People at which the Freedom Charter was adopted by the ANC and other parties, a name strongly contested by the ANC in a legal move dismissed by the Pretoria High Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maite Nkoana-Mashabane</span> South African politician

Maite Emily Nkoana-Mashabane, formerly known as Maite Mohale, is a South African politician who served as the Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities. She was Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform from 2018 to 2019, and previously served as Minister of International Relations and Cooperation from 2009 to 2018. Nkoana-Mashabane is also a former member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress (ANC).

Cassel Mathale is a South African politician who was the third Premier of Limpopo between March 2009 and July 2013. He is currently the Deputy Minister of Police in the South African government and before that was Deputy Minister of Small Business Development from February 2018 to May 2019.

Alexandria is a town in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality under Ehlanzeni District Municipality in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. It got its theme of footprints on rock in the mountains of Simeleni.

The Ximoko Party is a minor political party in South Africa. It has no representation in the National Assembly or the provincial legislatures, but currently has 3 councillors at municipal level in Limpopo province as of 2019.

Lesiba Christopher Mothiba was a South African politician and traditional leader. He rose to prominence during apartheid as a politician in Lebowa and the leader of the GaMothiba traditional authority in present-day Polokwane, Limpopo. He later served in the post-apartheid National Assembly from 2001 to 2004, representing the United Democratic Movement (UDM) until he crossed the floor to the African National Congress (ANC) in 2003.

References

  1. ↑ Lodge, Tom (1998). "Political Corruption in South Africa". African Affairs. 97 (387): 157–187. ISSN   0001-9909.
  2. ↑ "People's Assembly". www.pa.org.za. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  3. ↑ "UCDP - United Christian Democratic Party". www.ucdp.org.za. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  4. ↑ Joubert, Annekie; van Schalkwyk, J. A. (1999). "War and Remembrance: The Power of Oral Poetry and the Politics of Hananwa Identity". Journal of Southern African Studies. 25 (1): 29–47. ISSN   0305-7070.
  5. ↑ Van Kessel, Ineke (1993). "'From Confusion to Lusaka': The Youth Revolt in Sekhukhuneland". Journal of Southern African Studies. 19 (4): 593–614. ISSN   0305-7070.
  6. ↑ "General Notice: Notice 1319 of 1999 – Electoral Commission: Representatives Elected to the Various Legislatures" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa . Vol. 408, no. 20203. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  7. ↑ "Media Releases". udm.org.za. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  8. ↑ Pressly, Donwald (12 March 2004). "IFP lists its top contenders". News24. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  9. ↑ "SA's new parties are family affairs". The Mail & Guardian. 2003-04-28. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  10. ↑ "Ex-Bantustan leader Ramodike quits politics". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  11. ↑ Lodge, Tom (1998). "Political Corruption in South Africa". African Affairs. 97 (387): 157–187. ISSN   0001-9909.
  12. ↑ Grobler, E.; Joubert, S. J. (2004-01-01). "Corruption in the public sector : the elusive crime". Acta Criminologica. 17 (1): 90–102. hdl:10520/EJC28823.
  13. ↑ "Abolition of Lebowa Minerals Trust Bill: discussion | PMG". pmg.org.za. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  14. ↑ "Abolition of Lebowa Mineral Trust Bill | South African Government". www.gov.za. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  15. ↑ "Ramodike loses to Mbeki in court". News24. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  16. ↑ "People's Assembly". www.pa.org.za. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.