Tokyo Sexwale - Definition and Overview

Mosima Gabriel Sexwale (commonly known as Tokyo Sexwale) (5 March 1953 - ) is one of South Africa’s most prominent businessmen as well as a former politician, anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner. (His nickname derives from his involvement with the sport of karate as a youth.)

Generally seen as a charismatic leader, Sexwale was imprisoned on Robben Island for his anti-apartheid activities, serving his sentence alongside figures such as Nelson Mandela. After the first all-inclusive democratic elections in South Africa in 1994, he became the premier of Gauteng province. He quit active politics in 1998 and subsequently became a major business leader.

He is married to Judy Moon and they have three children.

Early life and education

Sexwale was born in the suburb of Orlando West, Soweto and matriculated at Orlando West High School in 1973. His father was a clerk at Johannesburg’s General Hospital. Sexwale grew up amid the turmoil of the black township upheavals. He was eight when he heard the explosions at a nearby post office of the first bombs in the African National Congress's guerrilla anti-apartheid campaign.

He became a member of the Steve Biko’s Black Consciousness Movement in the late 1960s and became a local leader of the radical South African Students Movement. In the early 1970s, joined the African National Congress’s underground movement and armed wing (called Umkhonto we Sizwe, meaning “spear of the nation”). While serving as an active member of the ANC underground movement in Swaziland, he completed a Certificate in Business Studies at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland.

In 1975 Sexwale went into exile, undergoing military officers' training in the Soviet Union, where he specialized in military engineering.

Imprisonment

Upon his return to South Africa in 1976, he was arrested after a skirmish with the South African security forces and, together with 11 others, was charged and later convicted of terrorism and conspiracy to overthrow the government after an almost two-year long trial in the Pretoria Supreme Court.

In 1977, Sexwale was sent to Robben Island maximum security prison to serve an 18-year sentence. He was eventually to serve 13 years of this sentence.

While imprisoned at Robben Island, he studied for and completed his B. Comm. degree at the University of South Africa.

Sexwale was released in June 1990 in terms of the Groote Schuur Agreement between the National Party government and the African National Congress.

Political career

After his release Sexwale returned to Johannesburg, where he first served as head of the public liaison department of the African National Congress Headquarters. He was subsequently appointed the head of special projects, reporting to the ANC’s military headquarters.

In September 1990, he was elected as a member of the executive committee of the ANC in the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging (PWV) region. He became the chairperson of the ANC in the PWV region in 1991, a position he held until his resignation in late 1997.

After the South African elections of 1994, Sexwale was appointed as first the premier of the then-new Gauteng province (the former PWV region). In this role, he was credited with bringing peace to several politically strife-torn townships.

Sexwale left politics for the corporate sector in 1998. The reasons for this was never made completely clear, but was reportedly due to feeling stifled by central government restrictions as well as becoming exhausted by internal African National Congress intrigues.

Business career and philanthropic activities

Upon leaving the public sector, Sexwale found Mvelaphanda Holdings (mvelaphanda is the Venda word for “progress”), a company of which he is still (as of 2004) executive chairman. Mvelaphanda is primarily focused on the mining, energy and related sectors.

Some of Sexwale's main interests are oil and diamond mining, for which he has been granted concessions across Africa and Russia; these interests are controlled by a subsidiary of Mvelaphanda Holdings called Mvelaphanda Resources, of which he is chairman.

In particular, Sexwale has become a major player in the diamond industry, with his company reportedly being the third biggest after De Beers and JFPI Corporation. He was praised by no less a figure than Harry Oppenheimer, the patriarch of the Anglo-American and De Beers corporations, as having an understanding of the South African and international diamond mining industry that few can equal.

Sexwale also chairs companies such as the Trans Hex Group Ltd. and Northam Platinum Ltd.; in addition, he is a director of companies such as the Amalgamated Banks of South Africa (ABSA) Group Limited, Allied Electronics Corporation Ltd. (more commonly known as Altech) and Gold Fields Ltd. (the latter two positions are non-executive).

He is also known as a philanthropist and is a trustee of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, the Global Philanthropists Circle, the Business Trust and the Robben Island Ex-Prisoners Trust. Furthermore, he is a patron of societies such as Johannesburg Child and Family Welfare Society, Streetwise South Africa (an organisation dedicated to assisting street children), Save the Family Fund (catering for families and communities ravaged by apartheid violence) and The Sky is No Limit (which aims to expose disadvantaged youths to hi-tech education in computers and aviation).

Since leaving active politics, Sexwale has not made himself available for any elected ANC position again, but he remains active in his local party branch.

Controversies

In 2001 Sexwale was accused, along with Cyril Ramaphosa and Mathews Phosa, of plotting to depose President Thabo Mbeki. Sexwale denied the charges and all three received the backing of Nelson Mandela; they were later exonerated from all accusations.

In 2002, he was refused a visa to enter the United States, which kept him from attending the listing of Gold Fields (a company in which he holds a 15% stake) on the New York Stock Exchange. It later transpired that he, along with many prominent South African anti-apartheid figures such as Nelson Mandela and (former cabinet minister) Sidney Mufamadi, were still on that country’s list of global terrorists.

After initiating legal action (going so far as to having papers served on the United States Department of State) and following personal intervention by Condoleezza Rice, Sexwale and the others received 10-year waivers from the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Department of Homeland Security, as the United States government felt that permanently delisting them would mean changing the law, which would be a lengthy process.

Honours and awards

Sexwale has received numerous honours and awards including the Légion d'honneur from France, an honorary doctorate in technology from the University of Nottingham, Order of the Freedom of Havana (Cuba), the Cross of Valour (Ruby Class) from South Africa and the Reach and Teach Leadership Award from the USA. He is also chancellor of the Vaal University of Technology.

Furthermore, he is an honorary colonel in the South African Air Force and chair of the Council for the Support of National Defence, whose aim is to encourage part-time military service as well as building support in society for those who wish to serve in the military as volunteers.

In 2004, he was voted 43rd in the Top 100 Great South Africans (see List of South Africans).

International positions

Sexwale holds positions in many international organizations, such as President of the South African/Russian Business, Technological and Cultural Association and Vice President of the South African/Japanese Business Forum.

He is also the Honorary Consul General of Finland in South Africa.