Nana Mnandi

Nana Mnandi
Member of the National Assembly
In office
June 1999 – 1 August 2005
Personal details
Born (1959-07-25) 25 July 1959 (age 65)
CitizenshipSouth Africa
Political partyAfrican National Congress

Pamella "Nana" Mnandi (born 25 July 1959) is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal. She represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1999 until 2005, when she resigned. Her resignation followed her conviction on a fraud charge in the Travelgate scandal.

Early life and activism

Mnandi was born on 25 July 1959[1] and is from present-day KwaZulu-Natal, formerly the Natal Province.[2] During apartheid, she was active in the women's movement in the Natal Midlands, including as a leader of the influential Midland Women's Group in the 1980s.[3]

Legislative career: 1999–2005

Mnandi was elected to the National Assembly in the 1999 general election[1] and gained re-election in 2004.[4] In March 2005, she was one of the first five MPs to be convicted of defrauding Parliament in the Travelgate scandal.[5] As part of a plea bargain, she pled guilty to fraud in connection with an amount of R34,000 and was sentenced to pay a fine of R40,000 or serve one year in prison. She was also given a mandatory three-year prison sentence suspended conditionally for five years.[5]

In June 2005, the ANC announced that Mnandi and four others would resign from Parliament due to their involvement in the Travelgate scandal.[6] She officially left her seat on 1 August and was replaced by Sello Dithebe.[7]

Later career

In the 2006 local elections, Mnandi was listed as an ANC candidate for election as a local councillor in KwaZulu-Natal's Umgungundlovu District Municipality. Her nomination attracted criticism, given her recent fraud conviction.[8][9] Weeks after the election, Mnandi was jailed for having failed to pay the court-imposed fine.[9]

In 2011, she was a leading figure in major protests against Alpha Shelembe and other ANC leaders in Pietermaritzburg.[10][11] As of 2013, she was employed in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "General Notice: Notice 1319 of 1999 – Electoral Commission: Representatives Elected to the Various Legislatures" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 408, no. 20203. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  2. ^ "First day of school for MPs". The Mail & Guardian. 22 April 2004. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  3. ^ Landsman, Christina (2013). "Oral History: Representing the Hidden, the Untold and the Veiled". South African History Online. p. 181. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  4. ^ "General Notice: Notice 717 of 2004 - Electoral Commission – List of Names of Representatives in the National Assembly and the Nine Provincial Legislatures in Respect of the Elections Held on 14 April 2004" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 466, no. 2677. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 20 April 2004. pp. 4–95. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b "First MPs convicted of Travelgate fraud". The Mail & Guardian. 18 March 2005. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Travelgate MPs resign from Parliament". The Mail & Guardian. 23 June 2005. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  7. ^ "National Assembly Members". Parliamentary Monitoring Group. 15 January 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Corrupt still in pound seats". Sunday Times. 29 January 2006. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Travelgate MP jailed for not paying fine". IOL. 11 April 2006. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Marchers threaten an ungovernable PMB". News24. 17 June 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Embattled Msunduzi deputy mayor resigns". Sunday Times. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  12. ^ Naidoo, Nalini (13 December 2013). "The fighter vs the talker". Witness. Retrieved 11 May 2023.