Lumka Yengeni

Lumka Elizabeth Yengeni (née Nyamza) is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 2004 to 2017. She resigned in October 2017 to take up her current position as South African High Commissioner to Jamaica, in which capacity she has been accredited since December 2018. She served on the ANC's National Executive Committee from 2007 to 2012.

Lumka Yengeni
High Commissioner of the Republic of South Africa to Jamaica
Assumed office
18 December 2018
PresidentCyril Ramaphosa
Member of the National Assembly
In office
2004 – 2 October 2017
Personal details
Born
Lumka Elizabeth Nyamza
CitizenshipSouth Africa
Political partyAfrican National Congress
SpouseTony Yengeni

Early activism

During apartheid, Yengeni was a member of the South African Students' Organisation, a Black Consciousness organisation. She was imprisoned between 1976 and 1980 under the Internal Security Act and was arrested again, under the new Internal Security Act, in 1987.[1][2]

Legislative career: 2004–2017

Yengeni joined the National Assembly in 2004 and was re-elected in the 2009 general election.[1] From 2007 to 2012, she also served as a member of the ANC's National Executive Committee; she was elected to the body at the party's 52nd National Conference, ranked 31st of 80 ordinary members by number of votes received.[3]

Pursuant to the 2014 general election, she was re-elected her legislative seat, ranked 74th on the ANC's national party list, and was also elected as Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Labour.[1][4] She did not complete her third legislative term but instead resigned in October 2017 to undergo training as an ambassador-designate.[5]

Diplomatic career: 2018–present

In December 2018, Yengeni presented her credentials as South African High Commissioner to Jamaica, based in Kingston. As High Commissioner, she later gained non-resident accreditation to surrounding islands including Antigua and Barbuda,[6] Saint Kitts and Nevis,[7] and the Bahamas.[8] She remained at the High Commission as of March 2023.[9]

Personal life

In the 1980s in Lusaka, Zambia, Yengeni married Tony Yengeni, then an Umkhonto we Sizwe commander and later an ANC parliamentarian.[10] They have two adult children together and have been separated since 2011.[11][12]

References
  1. "Lumka Elizabeth Yengeni". People's Assembly. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  2. "Treason trial 11 on hunger strike over 'unequal treatment'". The Mail & Guardian. 2 June 1988. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  3. "Results for the election of ANC officials". ANC. Archived from the original on 29 June 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2008.
  4. "Lumka Yengeni exposed as madam from hell". Business Day. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  5. "Reggae beat for Lumka Yengeni's next job". Sunday Times. 15 October 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  6. "Antigua welcomes newly accredited High Commissioner of South Africa". Antigua News Room. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  7. "St. Kitts and Nevis to have deeper cooperation with South Africa". The St Kitts Nevis Observer. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  8. "Update on a South African citizen who died in The Bahamas". Department of International Relations and Cooperation. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  9. "'Be godly, spiritual influencers against crime'". Jamaica Gleaner. 15 March 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  10. "Tony Sithembiso Yengeni". South African History Online. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  11. "Yengeni leaves his wife". Sowetan. 20 February 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  12. Malatji, Ngwako (27 February 2022). "Yengeni files for divorce after years of separation". Sunday World. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
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