THE POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY OF CDE. MAXWELL HUMBELANI “MR MAN” NEMADZIVHANANI!!!

In 1975 he joined the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) of Azania under the late PAC stalwart and founder member, the late Mr. Josias Madzunya. In 1976-1977 he served as Regional Organizer of the South African Student Movement (SASM), a Black Consciousness Movement formation led by the late Steve Biko. In 1977 he left the country for exile and received political asylum in Botswana and concurrently joined the Azanian People’s Liberation Army (APLA). He received military training in Tanzania. After training, he served as editor of Azania News and Azania Combat. He also served as a broadcaster for Voice of Azania radio and he also went to study Economics in Australia, and later requested to organize PAC activities in Australia.

From 1980 to 1982 he served as President of the All African Student Movement (Australia), a student body affiliated to the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which is now called African Union (AU).

Between 1993 and 1998 he was appointed PAC Chief Representative to Australia and the South Pacific, representing 26 countries in Australisia and the South Pacific region. At the time he was based in Canberra. His official duties included building international support and solidarity for the Anti-Apartheid Struggle and strengthening international support for the isolation of the Apartheid Regime.

From 1984 to 1988 he worked and represented the PAC within the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and its Liberation Committee; the Non Aligned Movement; and the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, particularly its Special Committee against Apartheid. In 1988 he was appointed PAC Permanent Representative to United Nations in New York, the United States of America (US). His responsibilities included building support for the South African Struggle for national liberation and self-determination.

In 1980 he was also involved as an executive member of the Southern Africa Support Campaign and Karry Browning was coordinator of the structure. The structure was designed to provide support and promote awareness of the liberation struggle in the SADC Region. He worked together with Australian groups, African National Congress (ANC), PAC, Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), and South West African People’s Organization (SWAPO). The organization was instrumental in picketing with Australian Unions under the Campaign “Close the racist embassy” in Canberra.

As an executive member of the Australian Combined Solidarity Groups (ACSG) he promoted international struggles for national determination and democracy in countries such as Chile, New Zealand for the (Maori people), and the Philippine. He also worked with Staley Carmichael in the Caribbean Island.

In 1988, three cars belonging to the South African and the US Embassies were allegedly firebombed. Police laid eleven charges against him. His house was under surveillance for twenty four hours a day. He was acquitted in 1989.

In 1989 up until to 1991 he was appointed PAC Chief Representative to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, West Africa by the PAC Central Committee. His duties included building anti-apartheid solidarity and African concord between the Nigerian and South African people.

In 1988 he served as a PAC member of the Central Committee as well as a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in 1992. In 1992 to 1994 he was elected PAC National Organizer. In his portfolio, he coordinated PAC organizational and administrative political structures. As a National Organizer he published a book called “On party building”. The book was distributed to all party structures free of charge.

In 1995, he was elected as PAC Secretary General, where he was in charge of coordinating all PAC departments.

He was in a team which represented the PAC in Zimbabwe for Harare Declaration where the ANC was also involved in setting the basis for negotiations. He was charged by both the ANC and PAC with the responsibility of organizing Patriotic Front Conference which was held in October 1991 in Durban.

He represented the PAC in preparations for negotiations of Congress of Democratic South Africa (CODESA) at the World Trade Centre which led to the first general elections in 1994. As PAC representative, he served in the committee with the late Cde Malatsi and Carter Seleka whereas the ANC was represented by former Minister Cde Ibrahim and Cde Mac Maharaj, the current spokesperson in the office of the Presidency.

He worked jointly with MK representatives in preparation of the demobilization of the armed forces following the cessation of hostilities between Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), APLA and former South African Defence Force (SADF). The cessation of hostilities led to integration of non-statutory (MK and APLA) armies.

In 1992 he led a delegation of eleven PAC comrades to Tanzania and China for four weeks, where they were learning about China Communist Party’s (CCP) tactics of struggle of liberation.

In 1999 to 2004 he was sole member (MPL) of the PAC in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature. From 2000 to 2003 he served as PAC Chairperson in the Limpopo Province.

On the 26th August 2004 he joined the African National Congress. The ANC realized his potential and deployed him to the Limpopo Provincial Legislature for two terms, which is from 2004 to 2014. He was a member of Khadzinge Branch.

As MPL, he served in the following Committees:
• Finance, Trade, Industry, Tourism and Environmental Affairs
• Land And Agriculture
• Sport, Arts and Culture
• Local Government and Housing
• Safety and Security
• Change Management Team
• Parliamentary Programming Committee
• The Rules Committee
• Limpopo Provincial Legislature Board
• Limpopo Parliamentary Interests and Ethics Board
• The National Parliamentary Pension Fund Board
• University of Limpopo Scholarship Fund

He also served as Chairperson of the following Portfolio Committees:
• Public Works
• Treasury

In his fifteen years as an MPL, he served his constituencies Mutale and Molemole with distinction.

(This biography is an unedited part of his written obituary, under the paragraph titled “Political Activities”, as distributed and read at his funeral service held at Tshivhase High School, Vhufuli Village, in the Vhembe District. Mr Man was born on 20 August 1956, passed away on 1 April 2015 and was buried on 11 April 2015).