The Rise and Fall of Zweli Mkhize and How He Gained Support to Run for ANC Presidency
From a stellar political career to demise at the hands of corruption, Dr Zweli Mkhize has become a standard talking point in many South African households. Most recently, the embattled politician has made headlines for his failed bid for the African National Congress presidency.
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From the start of his political career, Mkhize's meteoric rise up the ranks of the ANC signalled only good things for the prominent politicians' future.
But like many politicians before him, Mkhize's once illustrious career was torpedoed by allegations of corruption and dodgy dealings.
Briefly News unravels the former health minister's rise up the ruling party's ranks, inevitable downfall, and resurrection from the ashes of scandal that saw him unsuccessfully run for the ANC presidency.
Dr Zweli Mkhize was a fixture in the ANC when it was still just a struggle movement
Like many other ruling party members, Zweli Mkhize did not start as a politician but as a medical student who soon became a struggle activist.
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A young Mkhize was only 20 years old, and in his first year of medical school when his life was forever changed by the June 16 Soweto uprising in 1976, Daily Maverick reported.
Despite the turbulence and violence of the apartheid regime and the struggle movement Mhkize completed his studies. By the mid-80s, Dr Mhkize was recruited into Mkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the ANC.
Mkhize's activities as an MK soldier landed him on the radar of the apartheid government. The MK veteran was forced into exile in 1986 after narrowly escaping arrest following a bother operation, code-named Butterfly.
Mkhize escaped to Swaziland and later settled in Zimbabwe, where he continued his medical practice by treating MK combatants. An ambitious Mkhize continued to climb up the ladder while in exile, and by 1987, he was an MK commander in charge of KZN's underground cell.
The good doctor's stellar reputation earns him a top spot in ANC political elite
Mkhize returned to South Africa in 1991, a former exile after the apartheid was finally dismantled by the regime's last president, FW de Klerk.
Lauded as a hero of the struggle movement, Mkhize was rewarded for his efforts while in exile with a position in South Africa's new democratic government, EWN reported.
The former MK soldier's political career started in his home province of KwaZulu-natal, but it didn't take long for Mkhize to rise in the ranks to hold a top position as one of SA's cabinet ministers.
Below are the numerous positions Dr Zweli Mkhize held as he climbed up the ranks of the ANC and the South African government:
- Member of the ANC National Health Secretariat (1991): This structure was responsible for developing South Africa's health policies.
- Health MEC in KZN (1994): Mkhize becomes KwaZulu-Natal's first and longest-serving health MEC.
- Finance MEC for KZN (2004): While heading up the finance division in his home province, Mkhize was also the ANC's National Education and Health Subcommittee chairperson.
- KZN Chairperson for the ANC (2008): Mkhize was re-elected to the provincial chairperson position in 2012.
- Premier of KwaZulu-Natal (2009).
- ANC treasurer-general (2012).
- Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (2018)
- Minister of Health (2019 - 2021).
Mkhize's Covid-19 response as Minister of Health makes him a household name
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When the COVID-19 pandemic thrust the world into a global lockdown, then-Health Minister Zweli Mkhize won the hearts of South African citizens by becoming the face of the nation's Covid-19 response.
According to TimesLIVE, when SA recorded its first case of the mysterious virus in March 2020, Mkhize jumped into action and constantly updated citizens on the country's readiness to deal with the pandemic.
Mkhize never dropped that ball and constantly kept South Africans in the know through regular press conferences and social media updates.
Mkhize was also instrumental in securing much-needed Covid-19 vaccinations when Western countries were hoarding the resource, which was crucial for SA's Covid-19 response.
Even when many South Africans were reluctant to use the Covid-19 vaccine, Mkhize, not easily discouraged, embarked on a campaign to end vaccine misinformation and educate the nations about the benefits of the vaccine.
The then-health minister was celebrated for showing unprecedented leadership and instilling confidence in numerous South Africans. But then Mkhize started making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The Digital Vibes saga mars Mkhize's stellar reputation
During the height of the pandemic, Mkhize's name was dragged into a tender corruption scandal that rocked the nation: The Digital Vibes saga.
At the time, it was widely reported that associates of Mkhize made off with millions of rands from a R150 million Covid-19 and National Health Insurance communications contract.
The alleged looting involved Tahera Mather, who was reportedly Mkhize's family friend and had also served as the then-health minister's spokesperson. Mkhize's former assistant Maadhira Mitha was also implicated in the Digital Vibes scandal.
One of the accusations against those implicated was that the department of health paid Digital Vibes millions of rands for menial tasks such as scheduling media briefings.
The money was allegedly spent on shopping sprees and luxury holidays. Mkhize's son also bought a Toyota Land Cruiser while his daughter-in-law received a nail salon, EWN reported.
Mkhize's wife, Dr May Mkhize was also implicated in the scandal when almost R2 million from the tender was paid to the state-owned Ithala Development Finance Corporation to help pay off a loan. Ithala granted Dr May a R11.8 million loan so she could purchase a farm in 2006, Daily Maverick reported.
Mkhize was subsequently put on special leave by President Cyril Ramaphosa in June 2021.
Mkhize later resigned as a health minister in August of that same year after the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) found that Mkhize may have influenced the awarding of the tender to Digital Vibes.
Though Mkhize's response to the pandemic won him favour amongst South Africans, his popularity was not enough to spare him from a covid-19 scandal that would leave a lasting stain on his image.
Like a phoenix out of the ashes, Mkhize survives Digital Vibes and drums up support for his ANC presidential bid
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Despite not being cleared of the Digital Vibes tender scandal by the SIU, Mkhize somehow managed to drum up support from the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal.
Before the nomination processes for the ANC's 55th national elective conference started, the former health minister managed to secure an endorsement from an ANC branch in Ward 1 in KZN in February 2022.
Ward 1 chairman Mbongiseni Hlongwa told Bloomberg that his branch had historically started the endorsement process for ANC elections.
Hlongwa said the Digital Vibes allegations against Mkhize were yet to be tested in court, and his alleged role in the scandal did not faze his branch.
Soon many branches in KZN followed suit and threw their weight behind Zweli Mkhize for ANC president. By November 2022, the embattled former health minister had secured the endorsement of the entire province.
The ANC's provincial leadership praised Mkhize as a visionary leader who was the only one who could lead South Africa. ANC KZN spokesperson Mafika Ndebele said that the party wanted a leader incapable of self-seeking and corruption, IOL reported.
When asked about the digital vibes saga, Ndebele said the allegations against Mkhize were nothing but a childhood fairy tale.
ANC's 55th elective conference bursts Mkhize's presidential bubble
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Though Zweli Mkhize generated enough support in his home province to enter the race for the position of leader of the ANC, victory would not be his.
The ANC in KZN went into the conference believing that Mkhize would be the party's next president. The former health minister's prospects were looking up when ANC branches in Limpopo and Gauteng withdrew their support from Ramaphosa and jumped ship to Mkhize's camp, News24 reported.
but when the results were read, it was revealed that the incumbent, President Cyril Ramaphosa beat Mkhize by over 500 votes, thus ending the embattled ANC member's bid for the party's top position.
Cyril Ramaphosa re-elected as president of ANC, clenching a sweeping victory over Zweli Mkhize.
In another story, Briefly News reported the halls of Nasrec Johannesburg Expo Centre were filled with the sounds of celebrating delegates as President Cyril Ramaphosa emerged victorious and retained his position as the head of the African National Congress (ANC).
After a long weekend of campaigning and lobbying, the incumbent has swept the floor with his opponent, former Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. Out of the total 4484 votes cast, Ramaphosa managed to secure 2476, while Mkhize only garnered 1897 votes.
Word of Ramaphosa's victory came as good news for many ANC delegates. A video posted from inside Nasrec by @NoncebaNhlauli shows delegates happily dancing while singing President Ramaphosa's praises.
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Source: Briefly News
