11 Facts About Lennox Sebe

Lennox Leslie Wongama Ngweyesizwe Sebe was the chief minister of the Xhosa bantustan of Ciskei after its self-rule in 1972, and the nominally independent country's first president from 1983.

Lennox Sebe was the Chief of the AmaKhambashe Tribal Authority and his praise name was Ngweyesizwe.

In 1968, Lennox Sebe was elected as a representative of the Xhosa Kingdom's AmaNtinde chieftaincy in the Ciskeian Territorial Authority and became responsible for Educational and Cultural Affairs, before transferring to the Agriculture portfolio in 1971.

Lennox Sebe founded the Ciskei National Independence Party and contested Ciskei's inaugural election in February 1973.

Lennox Sebe was elected to the Zwelitsha electorate and succeeded Chief Justice Mabandla to become the second Chief Minister of Ciskei on 21 May 1973.

Lennox Sebe was faced with leading an economically unviable state, with a population of one million, many of them Xhosa forced to relocate to the bantustan in the 1970s, during South Africa's apartheid regime.

Immediately upon independence, Lennox Sebe consolidated power in a dictatorship, supported by the 1,000-strong military force.

Lennox Sebe visited Israel on several occasions during his presidency and established a trade office in Tel Aviv that was run by two Israelis with ties to the Gush Emunim Israeli settler movement.

Lennox Sebe once claimed that Israel had granted official recognition to Ciskei, although the Israeli Foreign Ministry denied this.

Lennox Sebe was overthrown by a military coup led by Brigadier General Oupa Gqozo on 4 March 1990 while on state visit to Hong Kong and charged with corruption and human rights violations.

Lennox Sebe died in 1994 after the reintegration to Ciskei in South Africa.