Canaan Mdletshe

Canaan Mdletshe
Member of the National Assembly of South Africa
In office
24 April 2024 – 28 May 2024
Preceded byMunzoor Shaik Emam
Secretary-General of the National Freedom Party
In office
December 2019 – 14 June 2024[a]
Succeeded byTeddy Thwala
Personal details
Born1976 or 1977
Nongoma, Natal, South Africa
Died (aged 47)
Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Political partyNational Freedom Party (2011–2024)
uMkhonto weSizwe (2024)
Children3
ProfessionJournalist

Canaan Mdletshe (1976 or 1977 – 5 December 2024) was a South African journalist and politician who was a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa from April until May 2024, representing the National Freedom Party (NFP), of which he served as secretary-general.[1][2]

Biography

Mdletshe was born in Nongoma.[3] Before entering politics, he worked as a political reporter at The Sowetan and as a news editor at The New Age.[4] He also worked at the TimesLIVE.[5] Mdletshe left those positions in 2013.[6]

He was elected Secretary-General of the NFP in December 2019.[7] His term ended when he resigned on 14 June 2024,[8] although it had been contested by Teddy Thwala since December 2023.[9]

Mdletshe was attacked by a group of people during a layover in Ulundi, a local political violence hotspot at the time, during the 2021 South African municipal elections. He later opened a criminal case regarding the incident.[10]

Mdletshe was not included on any NFP candidate lists for the 2024 general election and left the parliament as a result.[11]

In June 2024, after the NFP joined the Government of Provincial Unity in the aftermath of the 2024 KwaZulu-Natal provincial election, Mdletshe resigned from the party.[8] He had joined the NFP when it was founded in 2011.[12]

In August 2024, Mdletshe joined the MK Party.[13]

Mdletshe was married and had three children.[14] He died in a traffic collision in Mtubatuba on 5 December 2024, at the age of 47.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ "National Assembly Members (As on 2 May 2024)" (PDF). Parliamentary Monitoring Group. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  2. ^ "NFP secretary general declares conference in Durban as 'clandestine'". The Witness. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  3. ^ Mavuso, Sihle (6 December 2024). "BREAKING NEWS: MK Party Leader In KwaZulu-Natal Dies In Car Accident". African Times. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  4. ^ Sikhakhane, Celani (6 December 2024). "MK leader dies after late-night drive from polls". Scrolla.Africa. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  5. ^ Hlangu, Lwazi (6 December 2024). "MK Party official and ex-journalist Canaan Mdletshe dies in KZN crash". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  6. ^ Phungula, Willem (15 December 2019). "Canaan Mdletshe elected as NFP Secretary-General". The Daily Sun. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Canaan Mdletshe elected as NFP Secretary-General". News365. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  8. ^ a b Makwea, Reitumetse (2024-06-14). ""I'm not a sell-out": NFP's Canaan Mdletshe announces resignation". Briefly. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  9. ^ Liebenberg, Dries (19 December 2023). "NFP leadership squabbles continue". SABC News. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  10. ^ "Elections 2021: NFP's Canaan Mdletshe assaulted outside voting station in Ulundi, KZN". The Witness. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  11. ^ "Final National Candidates" (PDF). IEC. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  12. ^ Ntanzi, Hope (7 August 2024). "Former NFP Secretary-general Canaan Mdletshe resigns to join the MKP amid coalition controversy". Independent Online. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  13. ^ Maliti, Soyiso. "Former NFP secretary-general Canaan Mdletshe joins MK Party to serve alongside 'father' figure Zuma". News24. Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  14. ^ a b Hans, Bongani (8 December 2024). "Canaan Mdletshe, the journalist-cum-politician dies in car crash". Independent Online. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  15. ^ Ncwane, Nokwanda (6 December 2024). "MK Party leader in KwaZulu-Natal involved in fatal car crash". The South African. Retrieved 6 December 2024.

Notes

  1. ^ Contested by Teddy Thwala from December 2023
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