Mzwanele Nyhontso
MP
Member of the National Assembly of South Africa
Assumed office
2 September 2021
Preceded byBennet Joko
In office
22 May 2019 – 23 June 2021
Succeeded byBennet Joko
Personal details
Born
Mzwanele Nyhontso
Political partyPan Africanist Congress of Azania

Mzwanele Nyhontso is a South African politician who is the president of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania. He is also a member of the National Assembly of South Africa.

PAC leadership and parliamentary career

In December 2018, Nyhontso was elected leader of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania. His leadership has been marred by infighting between factions in the party and leadership challenges. His leadership is disputed by Narius Moloto, who was elected PAC leader at a different elective congress earlier in 2018.[1]

In May 2019 Nyhontso was elected to the National Assembly as the PAC's only MP. In June 2019 he became a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Technology, the Portfolio Committee on Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy, and the Disciplinary Committee.[2]

Nyhontso was re-elected as PAC leader in September 2019, while another faction re-elected Moloto as leader in August 2019.[3] Nyhontso was officially recognised by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as the legitimate leader of the PAC, but it is still disputed by Moloto and his faction.[4]

In November 2020, Nyhontso's parliamentary membership was suspended by speaker Thandi Modise after the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the 2019 decision by the Moloto's faction to expel him could only be set aside by a court of law.[5] Nyhontso then approached the Western Cape High Court and it ordered his reinstatement as a Member of Parliament in the interim on 3 December 2020, pending a decision of the Court regarding the challenge of his recent removal by his party.[6] In February 2021, the High Court dismissed an application by Moloto's faction for leave to appeal an interim ruling that reinstated Nyhontso as the party's single representative in the National Assembly with costs.[7] Nyhontso's application to reinstate him as a Member of Parliament was set aside in May 2021. He then sought to appeal the ruling.[7]

On 23 June 2021, he lost his parliamentary membership again. Bennet Joko was sworn in to replace him.[8] The North Gauteng High Court officially recognised Nyhontso as the legitimate leader of the PAC on 23 August 2021, however, the judgement was based on a technicality due to Moloto's notice of appeal of an earlier ruling not being received by the court's registrar. The court declared Moloto's election in August 2019 invalid.[9] Nyhontso's confirmation as president allowed him to return his seat in the National Assembly and he was sworn in on 2 September 2021, replacing Joko.[10]

References

  1. ^ "PAC marred by infighting | eNCA". www.enca.com. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Mzwanele Nyhontso". People's Assembly. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  3. ^ "PAC re-elects Mzwanele Nyhontso as president". SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader. 1 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Narius Moloto not welcome back to PAC: Mzwanele Nyhontso". POWER 98.7. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  5. ^ "PAC's sole MP loses his seat in Parliament". The Citizen. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Western Cape High Court Orders Reinstatement of PAC MP - Parliament of South Africa". www.parliament.gov.za. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b "PAC faction loses leave to appeal bid against ruling that reinstated Nyhontso as MP". SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader. 6 February 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  8. ^ Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) [@PAC_headquarters] (8 July 2021). "The PAC welcomes the newly sworn in MP, Bennet Joko. The new PAC MP replace former member of the PAC who lost his PAC membership by the operation of the PAC Constitution. The Constitution of the PAC does not permit dual membership of other political parties for its membership" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2022 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ "Mzwanele Nyhontso declared PAC's lawful leader". The Citizen. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  10. ^ Parliament of RSA [@ParliamentofRSA] (2 September 2021). "Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, flanked by Mr Mzwanele Nyhontso, PAC MP (right) and Mr Stevens Mahlubanzima Jafta, AIC MP (left) after they were sworn in as Members of the National Assembly today. https://t.co/ju5qg3VtJL" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2 September 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2022 – via Twitter.
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