Fikile Mbalula biography: age, wife, education, Tweets, cars, scandal, and contact details

Fikile Mbalula is one of South Africa’s longest-serving legislators, having held several key government positions over the years. He is the 17th Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC) and a former Minister of Transport. Explore Fikile Mbalula's biography to learn more about his background, career, scandals, and wealth.

Key takeaways

• Fikile Mbalula is a former Minister of Transport and current Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC).
• Initially, he served as Minister of Sports and Recreation, a position he held from 2010 to 2017.
• He has faced charges of corruption and misusing public funds. According to the allegations, the minister is said to have taken a vacation with his family, whose expenses are alleged to have been covered by one of the ministry's suppliers.

Fikile Mbalula's profile summary

Fikile Mbalula's biography

Fikile Mbalula is a larger-than-life ANC veteran who likes to take to his X account (formerly Twitter) to communicate with his ardent fans and party supporters. Here are some little-known details on the life of the South African politician.

Where was Fikile Mbalula born?

The former Minister of Transport and current ANC Secretary-General was born on the 8th of April 1971 in Free State, South Africa. As of this writing, Fikile Mbalula's age is 54.

Fikile Mbalula's tribe

Mbalula belongs to the amaMpondomise ethnic group, a subgroup of the broader Xhosa-speaking peoples in South Africa. Specifically, his clan name is Jola, which is one of the prominent lineages within the amaMpondomise.

Who is the wife of Fikile Mbalula?

The South African politician is married to Nozuko Mbalula. However, details of Fikile Mbalula's wife's age and date of birth are not publicly available.

Who are Fikile Mbalula's children?

Fikile has three children: two daughters and a son, together with his wife, Nozuko. While the family maintains a relatively private life, Mbalula has occasionally shared glimpses of his children on social media.

Notably, in May 2024, the proud dad posted about one of his daughters casting her vote for the first time during the general election.

Fikile Mbalula's education qualifications

The politician boasts of holding a master's degree in Economics. He also went to the Careers Research and Information Centre where he underwent training for leadership skills.

Fikile Mbalula's political career

Mbalula is one of the longest-serving government officials. His history in leadership dates back to 1986 when he served as the president of the Youth Congress of Botshabelo.

In 1987, he served as the Public Secretary of the youth congress of Botshabelo. That same year, he served in the Botshabelo Youth Congress as the vice president.

In 1989, he served as an area member of the United Democratic Front before getting a secretarial position in the ANC Provisional Youth Committee in 1990. He also had a secretarial position in the African National Congress Youth League between 1991 and 1994.

In 1994, he was promoted to provincial secretary of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). He served this position for two years after which he was appointed the secretary in the African National Congress Youth League's political education docket. He served in this position between 1996 and 1998.

In 1998, he joined the Local Branch Executive Committee of the South African Youth Congress (Sayco) where he was a member. In 2004, he was appointed as the president of the International Union of Socialist Youth.

Ministerial position

In May 2009, Fikile was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Police, a position that he served until October 2010. In November 2010, he was appointed as the Minister of Sport and Recreation, where he served until the 25th of May and was later re-appointed to serve the same position from the 26th of May to the 30th of March 2017.

On the 31st of March 2017, there was a cabinet reshuffle in the country, a move that saw him land the position of the Minister of Police.

In May 2019 after the general elections, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his cabinet. Fikile landed the position of Minister of Transport, a position he served up to 6th March 2023. He is currently the Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa's ruling party.

The minister has actively been involved in the country's political matters, considering the remarks that he has been making on his X account.

Fikile Mbalula's Instagram is not an exception as the minister has also used it for political reasons. He is among the legislators who have made their stand about testifying in the Zondo Commission.

Fikile Mbalula Tweets

Mbalula regularly takes to his X (Twitter), where he commands a following of more than 3.1 million, to communicate party activities and with his supporters.

Fikile Mbalula's cars

Fikile Mbalula's R3 million armoured G-wagon was recently linked to Fort Hare corruption accused Anwar Khan. The former minister also purchased an R750,000 BMW 5 series during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Fikile Mbalula's salary

Fikile reportedly earns around R2.47 million annually.

Fikile Mbalula's contact details

The minister is active on his social media pages. Therefore, if you wish to contact him, you can do so through the following contact details:

• X (Twitter): @MbalulaFikile
• Facebook: Fikile Mbalula
• Instagram: @fikilembalula

Fikile Mbalula's scandals

The politician has made headlines for many reasons. Here is a breakdown of some of the allegations against him.

AfriForum anti-corruption unit vs Fikile Mbalula

On the 6th of August 2019, AfriForum, a lobby group based in Johannesburg, stated that it was going to file charges against the Minister of Transport: Fikile Mbalula. The charges were regarding a trip that the Mbalula had gone on alongside his family in 2017. According to the allegations, all the expenses of the trip were paid by the government's supplier of sports products.

The head of the AfriForum anti-corruption unit: Monique Taute, was quoted saying;

AfriForum requested the Public Protector [Busisiwe Mkhwebane] in 2017 to investigate the trip.

She found that Mbalula had violated the Constitution and other legislation in this regard. She further ordered the National Prosecuting Authority to launch an investigation into whether the funds used to pay for the trip had been proceeds from money laundering or not. However, the NPA has yet to take steps against Mbalula.

According to the investigation that was carried out by the Public Protector, one of the suppliers: Sedgars Sport, which was in charge of supplying formal sportswear, was involved in the scandal. The supplier helped the minister settle the bill for the expenses of the holiday after the minister failed to pay the bills.

This incident happened at the time when Fikile Mbalula was serving the position of Sports Minister between 2010 and 2017.

`The allegations of the scandal were first brought up by Tshepo Mhlongo: a member of parliament of the Democratic Alliance after she found out that the minister had made the trip to Dubai. The member of parliament found out that Fikile and his family flew first class to Dubai and spent the vacation in Palm Beach Hotel, Atlantis, all at the expense of Sedgars Sport.

According to the Public Protector, the minister did not fulfil the requirement of the law to submit the details of his family to the Register of Members Interests. Even though the minister claimed to have settled the expenses of the trip, the Public Protector found out that the minister was not even aware of the expenses of the trip.

'Dirty money'

To make matters worse, the travel agency had tried severally to reach out to the minister in a bid to have him settle the bill, in vain. The travelling agency, therefore, made a resolve to seek a debt collector who ended up taking a payment from Sedgars Sport.

According to Monique Taute, AfriForum was forced to lay the charges after NPA failed to do so. The organisation alleged that the minister had gone on a vacation whose expenses were paid using 'dirty money' that was from an unfair act, especially to Sedgars Sport.

Monique went further to affirm that no politician was above the law. The organisation was confirmed to have laid charges against the minister for instigating corruption and money laundering. The charges were filed at the Brooklyn police station.

The scandal about the trip to Dubai first surfaced in 2018 when the Public Protector released a report that alleged that R680,000 was used to fund the holiday that the minister had gone on during the time that he was serving in the position of the Minister of Sports and Recreation.

Fikile's reaction to the claims

Responding to the allegations that were made regarding his misuse of public funds, the minister stated that he had taken a loan "two decades" before the trip. In a statement, he said:

Mr [Yusuf] Dockrat decided to make the loan to me through Reimon Uniforms. This was a decision he made in his own discretion. The loan was concluded with him in his personal capacity. Sedgars Sport did not give the loan, nor did it pay for my family vacation, in any way.

He went further to state:

I planned the holiday having anticipated that I would receive funds, prior to my holiday, from the sale of a property by a company in which I hold shares. The transaction was agreed upon in about May 2016, but was delayed.

As a result of the funds not being available by December 2016, I made arrangements with Munlin Travel that I would pay for the trip on our return from Dubai.

I consider it regrettable that [Mkhwebane] has chosen to make the adverse findings against me. It has now become necessary for me to consider challenging the findings in a court of law.

Even though these allegations were made in 2018, the NPA did not take any action against the minister. This became a huge concern, and as a result, the AfriForum anti-corruption unit took the leap of faith to file charges against Fikile Mbalula.

Fikile Mbalula's latest news

Mbalula recently celebrated his birthday on 1 April 2025 by giving back to elderly people in Laudium, Tshwane. Although he was born on 8 April, the party celebrated it on the 1st after the ANC NEC meeting at Luthuli House in Johannesburg.

He donated first responder support blankets, medical equipment, school shoes, water distribution and dignity packs to help uplift community members. The ANC secretary-general had this to say regarding the occasion:

Birthdays are a time for celebration, reflection and, most importantly, giving back. This year I am marking my special day by spending time and giving back to the members of the community of greater Tshwane region, honouring their wisdom, sharing moments of joy, and giving back to those who have given us so much.

It’s more than a gesture; it’s a reminder that true leadership is about service.

Jabu Mbalula, Fikile's older brother, recently made the Free State cabinet. He is the MEC for Community Safety, Roads and Transport, a position once occupied by the incumbent premier Lesoha-Mathae.

Does Fikile Mbalula have a wife?

Yes, his wife is called Nozuko Mbalula.

Does Fikile Mbalula have a matric?

There are no confirmed reports as to whether the former minister has a matric.

What is Fikile Mbalula doing now?

He is currently the Secretary-General of the African National Congress (ANC).

Fikile Mbalula's biography explores the life and journey of the South African politician and one of the veteran African National Congress (ANC) loyals. The former Minister of Transport has made headlines for good and bad reasons, but his commitment to serving his nation remains solid.

Briefly.co.za recently published an article about Nozuko Mbalula. Nozuko is Fikile Mbalula's fiery wife who stuck with him through a cheating scandal.

The minister of sports previously said his royal missus keeps him on the straight and narrow, even when he feels like quitting. Read on to learn more about Nozuko Mbalula.

Source: Briefly News