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

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.

Political career

After serving as Deputy Minister of Education, Ndlovu was appointed as Minister of Information by President Robert Mugabe on 6 February 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] By the time of the summit he was already placed on United States sanctions and European Union sanctions lists.[3][4]

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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] In the postponed election held on 27 June 2008 he was defeated by MDC candidate Samuel Sandla Khumalo.

Cholera outbreak

On 12 December 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.[8]

Dismissal

The Herald reported on 3 January 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.[9]

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 15 September 2015. He was 78 years old.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Mugabe retains old guard during shuffle", Reuters, 7 February 2007.
  2. ↑ "Zimbabwe: Muckraker – Giving Colonisers A Good Name". Zimbabwe Independent. 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2007.
  3. ↑ Blocking property of persons undermining democratic processes or institutions in Zimbabwe
  4. ↑ Official Journal of the European Union, L55, 24 February 2004, p.1.
  5. ↑ "Zimbabwe: Zanu-PF Names Poll Candidates", The Herald (allAfrica.com), 15 February 2008.
  6. ↑ ZANU-PF candidates hold rallies "The Herald". Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2008.(accessed 2/25/2008)
  7. ↑ Fikile Mapala and Torby Chimhashu, "7 ministers fall as opposition overturns Zanu PF's majority in parliament" Archived 21 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine, newzimbabwe.com, 2 April 2008.
  8. ↑ Zimbabwe: Cholera is genocide by UK
  9. ↑ "Losing Ministers Axed", The Herald, 3 January 2009.
  10. ↑ "Breaking: Sikhanyiso Ndlovu dies". NewsDay Zimbabwe. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
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