Sikhanyiso Ndlovu

Sikhanyiso Ndlovu was a Zimbabwean politician who was Minister of Information and Publicity from 2007 to 2008. He was also a member of the ZANU-PF Politburo.

Sikhanyiso Ndlovu
Minister of Information and Publicity of Zimbabwe
In office
6 February 2007 – December 2008
PresidentRobert Mugabe
Personal details
Born(1937-05-04)4 May 1937
Southern Rhodesia
Died15 September 2015(2015-09-15) (aged 78)
Bulawayo
Political partyZimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front

Political career

After serving as Deputy Minister of Education, Ndlovu was appointed as Minister of Information by President Robert Mugabe on February 6, 2007.[1]

EU-Africa Summit

President Mugabe achieved a diplomatic coup in December 2007 when he attended a European Union-Africa summit despite a visa ban on Zimbabwean government officials, effective since 2001. At the summit, Ndlovu called Chancellor Angela Merkel a "Nazi remnant". Responding to Merkel's criticism of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, Ndlovu told her to "shut up or ship out," saying Germany needed a head of state like Otto von Bismarck.[2]

House of Assembly

Ndlovu was nominated as ZANU-PF's candidate for the House of Assembly seat from Pelandaba-Mpopoma constituency in Bulawayo in the March 2008 parliamentary election.[3] He launched his campaign by slaughtering a beast and giving away bicycles to some of the people who attended his rally at Nkulumane Primary School, an act that his critics described as a gimmick to buy votes.[4] Milford Gwetu, an MP for the Movement for Democratic Change who was running for re-election in the same constituency as Ndlovu, died during the campaign, and as a result the election there was delayed.[5] In the postponed election held on 27 June 2008 he was defeated by MDC candidate Samuel Sandla Khumalo.

Cholera outbreak

On December 12, 2008, a day after Mugabe claimed that the Zimbabwean government had defeated a cholera epidemic, Ndlovu accused the United Kingdom of causing the outbreak in a "racist" attack meant to cause genocide against the Zimbabwean people.[6]

Dismissal

The Herald reported on January 3, 2009, that Ndlovu had been dismissed from the Cabinet earlier in the week, along with 11 other ministers, because he no longer held any seat in Parliament.[7]

Death

Ndlovu was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo after he suffered a stroke. He had earlier suffered an Asthma attack. He died early in the morning on September 15, 2015. He was 78 years old.[8]

References
  1. "Mugabe retains old guard during shuffle", Reuters, February 7, 2007.
  2. "Zimbabwe: Muckraker – Giving Colonisers A Good Name". Zimbabwe Independent. 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
  3. "Zimbabwe: Zanu-PF Names Poll Candidates", The Herald (allAfrica.com), February 15, 2008.
  4. ZANU-PF candidates hold rallies "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)(accessed 2/25/2008)
  5. Fikile Mapala and Torby Chimhashu, "7 ministers fall as opposition overturns Zanu PF's majority in parliament", newzimbabwe.com, April 2, 2008.
  6. Zimbabwe: Cholera is genocide by UK
  7. "Losing Ministers Axed", The Herald, January 3, 2009.
  8. "Breaking: Sikhanyiso Ndlovu dies". NewsDay Zimbabwe. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
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