Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele
Sankie Dolly Mthembi-Mahanyele, formerly known as Sankie Mthembi-Nkondo or Sankie Nkondo, is a South African politician, diplomat, and former anti-apartheid activist. She was the Minister of Housing from 1995 to 2003 and served as Deputy Secretary-General of the African National Congress from 2002 to 2007.
Early life and activism
Mthembi-Mahanyele was born on 23 March 1951 in Sophiatown in Johannesburg. She matriculated at Sekane-Ntoane High School in Soweto in 1970 and then attended the politically tumultuous University of the North, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1976.After graduating, Mthembi-Mahanyele went into exile abroad with the African National Congress, which was then based in Lusaka, Zambia. She was a journalist on Radio Freedom and worked under Thabo Mbeki in the ANC's department of international affairs. During this period, she wrote literature under the pseudonym Rebecca Matlou.
Post-apartheid political career
Government
After the end of apartheid in 1994, she was appointed Deputy Minister of Welfare in the South African government, under President Nelson Mandela. She stood for election as the ANC's Deputy Secretary-General at the ANC's 49th National Conference in December 1994, but – although she was believed to have the support of Mandela, Mbeki, and Jacob Zuma – lost "decisively" to the more left-wing candidate, Cheryl Carolus.Following the death of Joe Slovo, she was Minister of Housing from early 1995 to early 2003, serving under both Mandela and his successor, Mbeki. In 1999, she sued the Mail & Guardian for defamation, in connection to the newspaper's claim in December 1998 that Mthembi-Mahanyele had awarded a housing contract to a friend; the Supreme Court of Appeal ultimately agreed with the Johannesburg High Court that the report did not amount to defamation. In 2003, she won an award from United Nations Habitat for her work in the housing portfolio.