29 Facts About Senzo Mchunu

Edward Senzo Mchunu was born on 21 April 1958 and is a South African politician currently serving as Minister of Police since 30 June 2024.

Senzo Mchunu was formerly the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal between 22 August 2013 and 23 May 2016.

Formerly an ally of President Jacob Zuma, Senzo Mchunu was politically aligned to Cyril Ramaphosa by 2016.

Senzo Mchunu was re-elected to a second five-year term on the ANC National Executive Committee in December 2022.

Senzo Mchunu was born in April 1958 at eNhlwathi in KwaHlabisa in the northern part of present-day KwaZulu-Natal.

Senzo Mchunu attended high school in Pietermaritzburg and later enrolled at the University of Zululand; he completed his degree, a Bachelor of Arts in education and international relations, at the University of South Africa in 1986.

In 1991, after the African National Congress was unbanned by the apartheid government, Senzo Mchunu became the inaugural Regional Secretary of the ANC's branch in Northern Natal.

In 1997, Senzo Mchunu was sworn in as a Member of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature.

Senzo Mchunu returned to the ANC's provincial leadership corps from 1998, when he was elected ANC Deputy Provincial Secretary, serving under Provincial Chairperson S'bu Ndebele and Provincial Secretary Sipho Gcabashe.

Senzo Mchunu was re-elected in September 2002 despite a challenge to his incumbency by Mbuso Kubheka: he received 304 votes against Kubheka's 171.

At the party's next provincial elective conference in May 2005, Senzo Mchunu was elected to succeed Gcabashe as Provincial Secretary, apparently with the support of Jacob Zuma, who by then was Deputy President of South Africa.

Senzo Mchunu was re-elected as Provincial Secretary in June 2008; at that time he remained a Member of the Provincial Legislature.

Senzo Mchunu remained MEC for Education until his own ascension to the premiership in 2013.

Towards the end of his term as MEC, in March 2013, Senzo Mchunu was elected Provincial Chairperson of the KwaZulu-Natal ANC, succeeding Mkhize, who had been elected to the full-time position of national ANC Treasurer-General.

Senzo Mchunu received 385 votes against the 373 votes received by the other candidate, incumbent Deputy Provincial Chairperson Willies Senzo Mchunu.

At the ANC's next provincial elective conference in November 2015, Senzo Mchunu ran for re-election as ANC Provincial Chairperson but was defeated by his one-time deputy, Sihle Zikalala, who received 780 votes against Senzo Mchunu's 675.

Senzo Mchunu failed to gain election as an ordinary member of the ANC Provincial Executive Committee.

Senzo Mchunu's supporters claimed that the vote had been rigged and successfully challenged it in the courts, leading in late 2017 to the nullification of the election and the dissolution of Zikalala's leadership corps.

However, by then, Senzo Mchunu had been removed from the KwaZulu-Natal premiership: he resigned on 23 May 2016 under significant pressure from leaders of both the provincial and the national ANC.

Senzo Mchunu said that he had informed the national ANC leadership that he had "reservations" about the circumstances of his departure.

Ahead of the ANC's 54th National Conference, Senzo Mchunu stood to succeed Gwede Mantashe as ANC Secretary-General.

Indeed, the Daily Maverick said that Senzo Mchunu became Ramaphosa's "chief campaigner in KwaZulu-Natal".

At the conference, held at Nasrec in December 2017, Ramaphosa won the presidency but Senzo Mchunu lost the Secretary-General position in a vote to Ace Magashule, who received 2,360 votes to Senzo Mchunu's 2,336.

Senzo Mchunu received 1,800 votes across the 4,283 ballots cast, making him the 18th-most popular of the 80 candidates elected.

Ramaphosa and his supporters had reportedly pushed for Senzo Mchunu to be appointed to the role, while Ace Magashule's preferred candidate was Dakota Legoete, who was appointed Senzo Mchunu's deputy.

On 5 August 2021, Ramaphosa announced a cabinet reshuffle in which Senzo Mchunu was moved to the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, newly split from the former Ministry of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation.

At the Summit Senzo Mchunu declared that the Construction Mafia was Public Enemy Number One.

At the ANC's 55th National Conference in December 2022, Senzo Mchunu was re-elected to a second five-year term on the party's National Executive Committee; he was ranked sixth of the 80 candidates elected, receiving 1,932 votes across 4,029 ballots.

Senzo Mchunu married Thembeka was born on 31 January 1968 and in July 1990.