Nana Mnandi
South African politician (born 1959)
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Pamella "Nana" Mnandi (born 25 July 1959) is a South African politician from KwaZulu-Natal. She represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1999 until 2005, when she resigned. Her resignation followed her conviction on a fraud charge in the Travelgate scandal.
Nana Mnandi | |
|---|---|
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office June 1999 – 1 August 2005 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 July 1959 |
| Citizenship | South Africa |
| Party | African National Congress |
Early life and activism
Mnandi was born on 25 July 1959[1] and is from present-day KwaZulu-Natal, formerly the Natal Province.[2] During apartheid, she was active in the women's movement in the Natal Midlands, including as a leader of the influential Midland Women's Group in the 1980s.[3]
Legislative career: 1999–2005
Mnandi was elected to the National Assembly in the 1999 general election[1] and gained re-election in 2004.[4] In March 2005, she was one of the first five MPs to be convicted of defrauding Parliament in the Travelgate scandal.[5] As part of a plea bargain, she pled guilty to fraud in connection with an amount of R34,000 and was sentenced to pay a fine of R40,000 or serve one year in prison. She was also given a mandatory three-year prison sentence suspended conditionally for five years.[5]
In June 2005, the ANC announced that Mnandi and four others would resign from Parliament due to their involvement in the Travelgate scandal.[6] She officially left her seat on 1 August and was replaced by Sello Dithebe.[7]
Later career
In the 2006 local elections, Mnandi was listed as an ANC candidate for election as a local councillor in KwaZulu-Natal's Umgungundlovu District Municipality. Her nomination attracted criticism, given her recent fraud conviction.[8][9] Weeks after the election, Mnandi was jailed for having failed to pay the court-imposed fine.[9]
In 2011, she was a leading figure in major protests against Alpha Shelembe and other ANC leaders in Pietermaritzburg.[10][11] As of 2013, she was employed in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature.[12]