Michael Mabuyakhulu was born on 31 March 1964 and is a South African politician and former trade unionist who represented the African National Congress in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature between 1994 and 2016.
16 Facts About Mike Mabuyakhulu
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Mike Mabuyakhulu served for seventeen years in the KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council, most prominently as Member of the Executive Council for Economic Development and Tourism from 2009 to 2016.
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Mike Mabuyakhulu was the Provincial Treasurer of the ANC's KwaZulu-Natal branch from 1998 to 2008 and later served as the party's Deputy Provincial Chairperson from 2018 to 2021; he stepped aside from the latter position in May 2021 after he was charged with corruption.
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Mike Mabuyakhulu is from rural Ingwavuma on the North Coast of present-day KwaZulu-Natal, formerly part of Natal province.
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Mike Mabuyakhulu was formerly a trade unionist, first in the engineering sector of the Metal and Allied Workers' Union and then as a regional leader of its successor organisation, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa.
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Mike Mabuyakhulu joined the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature in 1994, the year that apartheid ended.
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Mike Mabuyakhulu led the ANC's caucus in the legislature's committee on economic development and tourism until 1999, when he was appointed to the KwaZulu-Natal Executive Council for the first time.
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Mike Mabuyakhulu was re-elected to a third term as ANC Provincial Treasurer in May 2005, again alongside Ndebele, but was succeeded by Peggy Nkonyeni in June 2008.
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Mike Mabuyakhulu was re-elected to the legislature in the 2014 general election, ranked fifth on the ANC's provincial party list, and remained in office as MEC until 2016, with environmental affairs added to his portfolio from May 2014 onwards.
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In 2011, Mike Mabuyakhulu faced criminal charges in connection with his role in securing a R1-million donation paid to the ANC in 2008.
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Mike Mabuyakhulu's supporters claimed that the prosecution was politically motivated, given that he was viewed as possible candidate to stand against Zweli Mkhize for the ANC provincial chairmanship in 2012.
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On 6 June 2016, Mike Mabuyakhulu was fired as MEC in a reshuffle by Willies Mchunu, who had recently replaced Senzo Mchunu as Premier.
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Later the same day, Mike Mabuyakhulu announced that he would resign from the provincial legislature with immediate effect.
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Mike Mabuyakhulu defeated the longstanding incumbent, Willies Mchunu, in a vote, and served under Sihle Zikalala, who was re-elected to the party chair at the same conference.
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However, due to the ongoing legal proceedings, Mike Mabuyakhulu withdrew his name from consideration.
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However, in May 2021, Mike Mabuyakhulu formally stepped aside from the deputy chairmanship.