Mavis Magazi
Mavis Nontsikelelo Magazi was a South African politician. She represented the African National Congress in the National Assembly from 1999 until 2005, when she resigned after being convicted of defrauding Parliament in the Travelgate scandal. She returned to the assembly from 2009 until her death in 2011. She was also active in the ANC Women's League and South African National Civics Organisation in Gauteng.
Early life and activism
Magazi was born on 17 May 1963. She joined the ANC Women's League in 1990, the year it was relaunched, and during the same period was an active member of Sanco; she was involved in establishing Sanco's national women's desk in 1993. She was also a member of the South African Communist Party.Parliament: 1999–2011
Magazi joined the National Assembly in the 1999 general election, gaining election to a seat in the ANC's Gauteng caucus. She was elected to a second term in 2004.Travelgate: 2005
In March 2005, Magazi was among the first MPs convicted on a criminal charge for abusing parliamentary travel vouchers in the Travelgate scandal. She accepted a plea deal with the Scorpions, in terms of which she pled guilty to defrauding Parliament of service benefits worth R63,000. She was sentenced to pay a fine of R60,000 or serve two years' imprisonment, in addition to a mandatory four-year suspended prison sentence.In June 2005, Magazi and four other convicted MPs – Ruth Bhengu, Mildred Mpaka, Rhoda Joemat, and Pamela Mnandi – announced that they would resign from the National Assembly. She left her seat on 1 August 2005 and was replaced by Winnie Ngwenya.