Sikhanyiso Ndlovu (4 May 1937 – 15 September 2015) was a Zimbabwean politician who was Minister of Information and Publicity from 2007 to 2008. He was also a member of the ZANU-PF Politburo.
Political career After serving as Deputy Minister of Education, Ndlovu was appointed as Minister of Information by President Robert Mugabe on 6 February 2007."Mugabe retains old guard during shuffle", Reuters, 7 February 2007.
EU-Africa Summit President Mugabe achieved a diplomatic coup in December 2007 when he attended a European Union-Africa summit despite a visa ban on Zimbabwean government officials, effective since 2001. At the summit, Ndlovu called Chancellor Angela Merkel a "Nazi remnant". Responding to Merkel's criticism of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, Ndlovu told her to "shut up or ship out," saying Germany needed a head of state like Otto von Bismarck. By the time of the summit he was already placed on United States sanctions and European Union sanctions lists.Blocking property of persons undermining democratic processes or institutions in ZimbabweOfficial Journal of the European Union, L55, 24 February 2004, p.1.
House of Assembly Ndlovu was nominated as ZANU-PF's candidate for the House of Assembly seat from Pelandaba-Mpopoma constituency in Bulawayo in the March 2008 parliamentary election."Zimbabwe: Zanu-PF Names Poll Candidates", The Herald (allAfrica.com), 15 February 2008. He launched his campaign by slaughtering a beast and giving away bicycles to some of the people who attended his rally at Nkulumane Primary School, an act that his critics described as a gimmick to buy votes.ZANU-PF candidates hold rallies (accessed 2/25/2008) Milford Gwetu, an MP for the Movement for Democratic Change who was running for re-election in the same constituency as Ndlovu, died during the campaign, and as a result the election there was delayed.Fikile Mapala and Torby Chimhashu, "7 ministers fall as opposition overturns Zanu PF's majority in parliament" , newzimbabwe.com, 2 April 2008. In the postponed election held on 27 June 2008 he was defeated by MDC candidate Samuel Sandla Khumalo.
Cholera outbreak On 12 December 2008, a day after Mugabe claimed that the Zimbabwean government had defeated a cholera epidemic, Ndlovu accused the United Kingdom of causing the outbreak in a "racist" attack meant to cause genocide against the Zimbabwean people.Zimbabwe: Cholera is genocide by UK
Dismissal The Herald reported on 3 January 2009, that Ndlovu had been dismissed from the Cabinet earlier in the week, along with 11 other ministers, because he no longer held any seat in Parliament."Losing Ministers Axed", The Herald, 3 January 2009.
Death Ndlovu was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Mater Dei Hospital in Bulawayo after he suffered a stroke. He had earlier suffered an Asthma attack. He died early in the morning on 15 September 2015. He was 78 years old.
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