Sheila Coleen Nkhensani Sithole (née Shope; born 4 February 1948) is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 2009 to 2019. Before that, she was a Member of the Limpopo Provincial Legislature. She is also a former chairperson of the ANC Women's League in Bushbuckridge.
Sheila Sithole | |
|---|---|
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office 6 May 2009 – 7 May 2019 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 February 1948 |
| Citizenship | South Africa |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Relations | Ntombi Shope (sister) |
| Parent | Mark Shope |
Early life
editSithole was born on 4 February 1948.[1] Her father was Mark Shope, a trade unionist and Treason Triallist who went into exile abroad after the ANC was banned in 1960;[2] her younger sister, Ntombi Shope, also became a politician. She was influenced in her adolescence by Ruth First and Sheila Weinberg; according to Sithole, her father introduced her to First, who proclaimed her "a blue stocking" and arranged weekly maths lessons for her with Weinberg.[3]
Political career
editIn South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994,[2] Sithole was appointed as chairperson of the Commission on Women in the office of the Premier of Limpopo (then called the Northern Province), Ngoako Ramatlhodi.[4] She also represented the ANC in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature and was chairperson of the ANC Women's League branch in Bushbuckridge.[4] The latter position led her into conflict with Mathews Phosa, then the Premier of Mpumalanga, because her Women's League branch was affiliated with Limpopo, contrary to Phosa's campaign to incorporate Bushbuckridge into Mpumalanga.[5][6] In a dramatic encounter in August 1994, Phosa arrived in Bushbuckridge in a helicopter to rescue Ramatlhodi and Sithole from protestors who had surrounded them; Sithole's supporters later alleged that Phosa's camp had staged the demonstration and pre-arranged the rescue.[4] In April 1995, Phosa allegedly referred to Sithole and two other ANC members as "mapanyulas" (a Tsonga profanity meaning "animal arsehole") at a rally, and Sithole announced that she would sue him for defamation, seeking R300,000 in damages.[4][6]
Sithole was not re-elected to the provincial legislature in 1999[7] but returned for another term after the 2004 general election.[1] Thereafter she served two consecutive terms in the National Assembly, gaining election in 2009 and 2014.[8][9]
References
edit- ^ a b "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.
- ^ a b "Who was Mark Shope?". News24. 3 September 2002. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ "International Children's Day (Debate)". People's Assembly. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d "The goon squads roll out as premiers battle over borders". The Mail & Guardian. 12 May 1995. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ Broch-Due, Vigdis (2005). Violence and Belonging: The Quest for Identity in Post-colonial Africa. Psychology Press. pp. 101–102. ISBN 978-0-415-29006-7.
- ^ a b Niehaus, Isak (2002). "Ethnicity and the Boundaries of Belonging: Reconfiguring Shangaan Identity in the South African Lowveld". African Affairs. 101 (405): 577. doi:10.1093/afraf/101.405.557. ISSN 0001-9909. JSTOR 3518467.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Sheila Coleen Nkhensani Sithole". People's Assembly. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ "Sheila Coleen Nkhensani Shope-Sithole". People's Assembly. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
External links
edit- Ms Sheila Coleen Nkhensani Shope-Sithole at People's Assembly
- Ms Sheila Coleen Nkhensani Sithole at People's Assembly