Thandi Modise

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Thandi Modise Ruth (* 25. December 1959 in Vryburg ) is a South African politician and since 2019 Chairman (Speaker) of the National Assembly . She was previously Prime Minister of the Northwest Province and, from 2014, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces .

Life

Modise was born as the youngest of six children in the township of Huhudi near Vryburg . Her father was a railroad worker and an activist in the African National Congress (ANC). As a result of the uprising in Soweto in 1976, there was also unrest in Huhudi, the residents resisted the incorporation into Bophuthatswana . Modise was shot as a passerby , which led to her decision to take up the fight. She went into exile in Botswana and was trained at Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) there and in Angola . After her training, she worked as a political officer in training camps and received political training herself in Dar es Salaam . Then she rose to the position of Section Commissioner and finally to the Commandant .

In 1978 Modise went back to South Africa and worked underground as an agent for the MK. In 1979 she was arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison, serving the sentence in Kroonstad . While in custody, she gave birth to her first daughter and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in psychology and economics . In 1988 she was released and began building the section of the African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) in Huhudi. She was a member of the National Executive Committee of the ANCWL from 1991 to 1993, she was elected Vice-President in 1994 and President of the League in 2004. From 1998 to 2004 Modise was a member of the National Assembly . In 2010 she was elected Prime Minister of Northwest. At the same time she was Deputy Secretary General of the ANC; she is a member of the ANC National Executive Committee and Chair of the Robben Island Museum Council . In 2014 she was elected Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces , the first chamber of the South African Parliament. Since 2019 she has been speaker (president) of the National Assembly, the second chamber, where she replaced Baleka Mbete .

Criticism, legal proceedings

The South African National Council of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) found in 2014 that Modise's farm had been abandoned for weeks. More than 50 pigs and 80 other animals were found dead there. The NSPCA had to pardon another 117 farm animals because they were in such poor health. Modise, as the owner, had stated that her manager had requested a 14-day absence to settle family matters. She said she believed his representative had control of the matter and was shocked to learn that he had failed to perform his duties. She claimed to be checking there every two weeks. Local farm workers disagreed: they only come to the farm once every six to eight months. The farm workers also received neither wages nor food at times. Since then, proceedings against Modise have been pending before the regional court in Potchefstroom , which led to a trial in 2019. Gerrie Nel acts as the prosecutor for the lobby group AfriForum .

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Eyaaz Matwadia: Thandi Modise animal cruelty case postponed , Mail & Guardian Online July 22, 2019, accessed July 23, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Modise, Thandi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Modise, Thandi Ruth
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 25, 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH Vryburg