TK Nciza
TK Nciza | |
|---|---|
| Provincial Secretary of the Gauteng African National Congress | |
| In office June 2022 – February 2025 | |
| Deputy | Tasneem Motara |
| Chairperson | Panyaza Lesufi |
| Preceded by | Jacob Khawe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thembinkosi Nciza 17 December 1975 Gugulethu, Cape Province South Africa |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Spouse |
Nhlanhla Mafu
(m. 2004; div. 2019) |
| Children | 4, including Ciza |
Thembinkosi "TK" Nciza (born 17 December 1975) is a South African politician, businessman, and former music executive. He rose to prominence as the co-founder of TS Records. He launched his political career in the African National Congress (ANC) in 2014, serving as the party's regional secretary in Ekurhuleni from 2018 to 2022 and then as its provincial secretary in Gauteng from 2022 to 2025.
Early life
[edit]Nciza was born on 17 December 1975[1] in Gugulethu in the former Cape Province.[2] He joined the Congress of South African Students as a teenager in Mpumalanga, and he was later a member of the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League.[2]
Business career
[edit]In 2001, Nciza co-founded TS Records, a record label, with Sbusiso Leope, a musician and broadcaster popularly known as DJ Sbu. Until 2005, the label's products were licensed, marketed, and distributed by CCP Records, EMI's South African division.[3] The label's notable early acts included Brown Dash, Izinyoka, Afro-pop singer Ntando, Mzekezeke, and Robbie Malinga.[3] In 2010 it signed Zahara, whom Nciza had personally scouted in East London;[4][5] she lived with Nciza and his wife for a period.[6] By 2017, the label had been dormant for several years and Leope announced that he and Nciza no longer worked together.[7]
Nciza's other business interests have included co-ownership of companies with Mzwandile Masina, a politician and Nciza's old friend; with Leope, the pair also had shared business interests with politician Panyaza Lesufi.[8]
ANC career
[edit]Ekurhuleni: 2014–2022
[edit]Nciza began his political career in November 2014, when a regional ANC conference elected him as treasurer of the party's influential branch in Ekurhuleni. He was elected alongside Masina, who became chairman of the branch.[9][10] At the next regional conference in 2018 he was elected as the branch's regional secretary, still serving alongside Masina as chairman;[2] and the regional conference in May 2022 putatively re-elected the pair to those positions, though the result was strongly disputed.[11][12]
Indeed, in July 2023, the Johannesburg High Court nullified the outcomes of the May 2022 election, finding that several local constituencies had unfairly been excluded from the vote.[13] The court judgment, identifying Nciza by name as "an important antagonist in this case," lent credence to longstanding[14] allegations that Nciza had improperly interfered in the election procedures to exclude opponents from the vote.[13][15] Although the court ordered that the election should be re-run, Nciza was not affected because he had already left the Ekurhuleni leadership for higher office.
Gauteng: 2022–present
[edit]Weeks after the controversial Ekurhuleni conference, in June 2022, Nciza attended the Gauteng ANC's provincial conference as a candidate for election as the party's provincial secretary. He ran on a slate of candidates allied to Lebogang Maile, who was challenging Panyaza Lesufi for the provincial chairmanship; Maile's provincial faction was viewed as closely aligned to Masina's regional faction in Ekurhuleni.[16] At the conference, Maile lost to Lesufi but Nciza narrowly won the secretariat: he received 534 votes while Thulani Kunene received 525 votes and the incumbent, Jacob Khawe, received only 56.[17] Tasneem Motara, another Maile ally, was elected as deputy provincial secretary under Nciza.[18] Nciza resigned from the Ekurhuleni leadership to take up his new provincial position.
During Nciza's tenure in the leadership, the provincial party confronted declining popularity in both the 2021 local elections and the 2024 general election. In 2022, Nciza and Lesufi led the ANC negotiating team that failed to negotiate a coalition with the Economic Freedom Fighters in the City of Ekurhuleni council; the Daily Maverick reported that Nciza and Lesufi had taken a negotiating stance that was at odds with instructions from the ANC's national leadership.[19]
In February 2025, ostensibly in response to the Gauteng ANC's poor performance in the 2024 election, the ANC National Executive Committee disbanded the leadership corps of the provincial party, installing an interim leadership structure. In what was viewed as a snub, Nciza was not given a leadership position in the so-called task team: Hope Papo was assigned to take over his administrative duties as interim coordinator of the provincial party.[20]
Personal life
[edit]Nciza was married to Mafikizolo musician Nhlanhla Mafu between 2004 and 2019, when they divorced.[21][22] Their five-year old daughter was killed in a car crash in December 2009.[23] They also have three sons,[22] one of whom, Nkululeko, is an Afrobeats musician known professionally as Ciza.[24][25]
Nciza's brother, Xolani Nciza, is a senior civil servant in Gauteng.[26]
References
[edit]- ^ Vellem, Mihlali (18 December 2023). "'Thank God for another year': TS Records boss celebrates bday". The South African. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ a b c Masuabi, Queenin (1 July 2022). "'TK' Nciza on why becoming ANC Gauteng boss chimes with musical past". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ a b "TS label goes solo in gold quest". IOL. 17 August 2005. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Zaranyika, Tapiwanashe (12 December 2023). "'A pure light and purer heart' — tributes pour in for singer Zahara". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "'We loved each other till the last day' — TK Nciza on his relationship with Zahara". Sunday Times. 23 December 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "'I'm really blessed'". Drum. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "Dj Sbu's record label is officially out of business". The Citizen. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "19 Cabinet members still have private business interests". News24. 27 July 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "Nciza, Masina win ANC contest". Drum. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "Masina elected ANC Ekurhuleni chair". Sunday Times. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
- ^ Mahlati, Zintle (29 May 2022). "Masina provisionally re-elected ANC Ekurhuleni chairperson, with 19 votes still to be counted". News24. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Mahlati, Zintle (28 May 2022). "Fractious ANC Ekurhuleni conference reveals extent of divisions in the region – Makhura". News24. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ a b Masuabi, Queenin (17 July 2023). "Court sets aside ANC's Ekurhuleni conference after branches disqualified". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Masuabi, Queenin (20 May 2022). "Trouble and strife cause yet another delay in ANC's regional conference in Ekurhuleni". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Mahlati, Zintle (17 July 2023). "High Court sets aside chaotic ANC Ekurhuleni regional conference". News24. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "Lesufi vs Maile: Battle lines drawn in ANC Gauteng leadership race". News24. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Mahlati, Zintle (27 June 2022). "'Unity' top five emerges at ANC Gauteng conference as Lesufi takes top post". News24. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ Masuabi, Queenin (27 June 2022). "Maile loses to Lesufi for ANC Gauteng chair, allies gain powerful positions". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Masuabi, Queenin (8 November 2022). "How the ANC-EFF partnership failed in Ekurhuleni and led to the re-election of Mayor Tania Campbell". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "Amos Masondo takes over ANC Gauteng's provincial leadership". The Mail & Guardian. 26 February 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "Inside Nhlanhla and TK Nciza's anniversary celebration". Drum. 18 July 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ a b "Nhlanhla and TK Nciza announce split after 15 years of marriage". Sunday Times. 20 June 2019. Archived from the original on 20 March 2025. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ "Nhlanhla opens up about her loss". Drum. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Dayile, Qhama (28 August 2020). "TK and Nhlanhla Nciza's son Ciza on trying to create his own legacy". Drum. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Langa, Phumlani S. (19 July 2020). "Ciza Liza follows in his famous parents' footsteps". City Press. Retrieved 2 June 2025.
- ^ Koko, Khaya (14 September 2023). "Xolani Nciza, brother of ANC heavyweight TK Nciza, suspended in Ekurhuleni for 'fake' qualifications". News24. Retrieved 2 June 2025.