24 Facts About David Mahlobo

Mbangiseni David Mahlobo was born on 14 January 1972 and is a South African politician who has served as the Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation since August 2021.

David Mahlobo has been responsible for the water and sanitation portfolio since May 2019, initially as Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation.

Infamous for his personal intimacy with Zuma, David Mahlobo was a controversial member of the cabinet; the Zondo Commission later implicated him in the capture of the State Security Agency as State Security Minister, and he was known as Energy Minister for his support for the proposed Russian nuclear deal.

David Mahlobo was re-elected to his third consecutive term in the ANC National Executive Committee in December 2022, and he was elected to a five-year term in the ANC National Working Committee in January 2023.

David Mahlobo was born on 14 January 1972 on Bergplaas farm in KwaNdalaza near Piet Retief in the former Eastern Transvaal, now part of Mpumalanga Province.

David Mahlobo went on to the University of Zululand, where he completed a Bachelor of Science in microbiology and biochemistry in 1998 and an Honours in biochemistry in 1999.

David Mahlobo was provincial chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the South African Union of Student Representative Councils and the deputy provincial chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal branch of the South African Students Congress.

David Mahlobo taught physical science and biology to high school students at his own high school, Bambanani, and later at the Lalela Finishing School in Pongola.

In 2000, David Mahlobo joined the civil service as a water scientist in the water quality division of the Mpumalanga Government's Department of Water and Forestry, focusing on the Olifants River catchment area.

Critics pointed to the fact that David Mahlobo had an official security detail as evidence of his involvement in political intrigue.

David Mahlobo was elected as deputy chairperson of the party's local branch in Nelsville, Mbombela in 2010 and as deputy chairperson of its regional branch in Ehlanzeni in 2012.

David Mahlobo was an active member of the National Executive Committee in the two years after his election; his responsibilities included liaising with the task team that led the ANC Youth League in the aftermath of Julius Malema's expulsion.

David Mahlobo participated in an ANC political education tour in China.

Ahead of the May 2014 general election, David Mahlobo left the civil service to stand as a candidate for election to the South African Parliament, ranked 67th on the ANC's national party list.

David Mahlobo was elected to a seat in the National Assembly and appointed as Minister of State Security in Zuma's cabinet.

Yet David Mahlobo quickly became renowned for his intimate relationship with Zuma.

Indeed, in subsequent years, the Zondo Commission heard evidence that David Mahlobo had personally been involved in a plot to funnel cash to Zuma and his associates through the SSA.

David Mahlobo remained an ordinary Member of Parliament, serving in the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition.

David Mahlobo was elected to a third term in the National Assembly in the May 2019 general election, now ranked 28th on the ANC's party list.

David Mahlobo was reappointed to the National Working Committee; he was the seventh-most popular candidate, receiving the support of 53 of the National Executive's 80 members.

In November 2016, the Hawks said that they were investigating David Mahlobo for alleged connections to a Chinese syndicate involved in rhino poaching.

The allegations originated in an Al Jazeera investigation, published in the 2016 documentary The Poachers Pipeline; in an interview for the documentary, a self-confessed rhino horn smuggler named Guan Jiang Guang claimed that he was close to David Mahlobo and did business with his wife.

David Mahlobo denied the allegations, saying that he frequently visited a massage parlor in Mbombela owned by Guan but had no knowledge of Guan's illicit activities.

David Mahlobo was a longstanding member of the council of his alma mater, the University of Zululand.