Basic Information | |
Stage Name: | Nathi Nhleko |
Real Name: | Nkosinathi Phiwayinkosi Thamsanqa Nhleko |
Occupation: | Politician and former trade unionist |
Date Of Birth/Age: | 10 October 1964 (59 Years Old) |
Place of Birth: | Ndabayakhe, Natal Province South Africa |
Gender: | Male |
Nationality: | South African |
Marital Status: | Nothando Nkomo (ex-wife) |
Education: | Leeds Metropolitan University |
Biography
Nkosinathi Phiwayinkosi Thamsanqa Nhleko, best known as Nathi Nhleko, is a South African politician and former trade unionist from KwaZulu-Natal. Nhleko was the Minister of Police and Minister of Public Works in the second cabinet of President Jacob Zuma. In 2018, he was sacked from the cabinet; he then began serving as a backbencher in the National Assembly until the 2019 general election.
Age
Nkosinathi Phiwayinkosi Thamsanqa Nhleko was born in Ndabayakhe, Natal Province, South Africa, on 10 October 1964. He was raised in Matshana in nearby Empangeni. He celebrated his 59th birthday on 10 October 2023.
Net Worth
The exact estimate of Nathi Nhleko’s net worth is unknown to the general public. The City Celeb estimates it to be between $1 million to $10 million.
Wife
In November 2014, Nhleko married Nothando Nkomo in a traditional Shembe wedding at the University of Zululand. Their marriage did not last long, and the couple separated two years later. Reports were that Nathi threw Nothando out of their matrimonial home.
A source for The Citizen said about Nathi’s behaviour, “I’ve never seen someone so well respected behaving like him. Nathi has abused that woman. He forced her to quit her job, and then a year after their marriage, he started humiliating her in public.”
Children
Nathi and Nothando Nkomo Nhleko shared a daughter. In January 2017, Sunday Sun reported that Nothando filed legal papers claiming Nhleko was not supporting their baby girl. A source revealed that Nathi would buy 50 nappies and infant formula for his child, spending R500. It led Nothando to force him to pay child maintenance because he last supported their daughter in September 2016. Nathi denied not supporting his child and claimed he wasn’t aware of the court matter.
House
In November 2016, IOL reported that Nhleko’s traditional home “looks like a luxury Zululand lodge, and is 8km from Richards Bay on a dirt road and includes a cattle kraal.”
Cars
It is unknown what cars Nathi Nhleko drives.
Political Influence
Nathi Nhleko gained prominence in 1989 while serving as the general secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union until 1993. In May 1994, he was elected to the first post-apartheid Parliament and represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly until September 2005. While representing the ANC in the National Assembly, Nhleko served as Chief Whip of the Majority Party from 2002 to 2004.
Nhleko took a hiatus from legislative politics from 2005 to 2014 to work in business and public administration. He worked as a correctional services commissioner in Kwa-Zulu-Natal and director-general in the Department of Labour.
Nhleko returned to the national government as Minister of Police in May 2014. He held the office until March 2017. He was reported to have made several controversial decisions while he was the Minister of Police. These decisions included recommending that Zuma should be absolved of personal liability in Nkandlagate.
Nhleko began serving as Minister of Public Works after a cabinet reshuffle from March 2017 until February 2018. He was later sacked by Zuma’s successor, President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Education
While growing up in Matshana in nearby Empangeni, Nhleko attended Amangwe High School in Matshana from 1982 to 1986. There, he was active in student politics but failed to matriculate. He failed his exams twice and, as a result of being detained by the apartheid police, he missed a third sitting.
Nhleko later attended university after the end of apartheid, completing a diploma in labour law at the Graduate Institute of Management and Technology in 2007. He later earned a master’s degree in leadership and change management at Leeds Metropolitan University in 2012.