Shakes Cele | |
---|---|
Member of the National Assembly | |
Assembly Member for KwaZulu-Natal | |
In office 21 July 2010 – 7 May 2019 | |
In office 2 September 2005 – May 2009 | |
Personal details | |
Died | Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal South Africa | 25 July 2020
Political party | African National Congress |
Mosie Anthony "Shakes" Cele (died 25 July 2020) was a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 2004 to 2009.
Cele was a member of the United Democratic Front in the Natal Midlands, where he was also closely involved in establishing legal ANC structures after the party was unbanned in 1990. [1] [2] He was a member of the inaugural regional executive committee of the ANC's Natal Midlands branch, then chaired by Harry Gwala. [2] In October 1992, he was travelling with Gwala's deputy, Reggie Hadebe, when Hadebe was assassinated outside Ixopo; Cele, Hadebe, and John Jeffery were driving back together from peace talks with Inkatha, and Cele sustained mild injuries when the car was ambushed. [3] [4]
Cele went on to become regional secretary and then regional chair of the ANC's Moses Mabhida branch in Pietermaritzburg. [2] On 2 September 2005, he was sworn in to an ANC seat in the National Assembly, representing the KwaZulu-Natal constituency; he replaced Ruth Bhengu, who had resigned. [5] In the next general election in 2009, he was not immediately re-elected, but he was sworn in to fill another casual vacancy on 21 July 2010. [6] He was re-elected in 2014, ranked fifth on the ANC's provincial party list for KwaZulu-Natal; during the legislative term that followed, he served as a party whip in the Portfolio Committee on Economic Development. [7]
In the 2019 general election, he dropped to the rank of 34th on the ANC's provincial party list and he was not re-elected. [7] He died on 25 July 2020 in Pietermaritzburg. [1]