Bavumile Herbert Vilakazi was a South African politician, diplomat and former anti-apartheid activist who was the inaugural Mayor of Ekurhuleni from 2000 to 2001.
13 Facts About Bavumile Vilakazi
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Bavumile Vilakazi served as leader of the Vaal Civic Association on the East Rand.
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Bavumile Vilakazi was born on 12 June 1955 in Evaton in the former Transvaal; he was the fifth of five brothers.
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Bavumile Vilakazi's family was living in Sharpeville at the time of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, but they later moved to Residensia.
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In 1983, Bavumile Vilakazi was a founding member of the Vaal Civic Association, an affiliate of the United Democratic Front, and he was elected as the area representative for Sebokeng.
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Bavumile Vilakazi was arrested in December 1984 for political offences and the following year was trialled with other UDF activists in the Delmas Treason Trial.
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In that capacity, he led a protest march from Sebokeng to Vereeniging on 26 March 1990; in what became known as the Sebokeng massacre, the police opened fire on the crowd, killing at least thirteen people, while Bavumile Vilakazi was addressing them.
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Bavumile Vilakazi was re-elected in the 1999 general election and served the Gauteng constituency.
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Bavumile Vilakazi resigned from his seat on 6 December 2000, after the 2000 local elections, in which he was elected as the inaugural Mayor of the newly incorporated Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.
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In 2001, Bavumile Vilakazi left the mayoral office and joined the diplomatic service.
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Bavumile Vilakazi died of a heart attack in Kampala, Uganda on 21 April 2005, shortly after receiving Deputy President Jacob Zuma at the Kampala Airport.
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Bavumile Vilakazi was buried at Vanderbijlpark and Zuma, by then the President of South Africa, spoke at the unveiling of his tombstone in 2011.
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At the time of the Delmas Treason Trial, Bavumile Vilakazi was married and had a toddler.