By Johnathan Paoli
The ANC in Gauteng has announced the passing of former Gauteng Health MEC and senior party leader Brian Thami Hlongwa, describing his death as a significant loss to the organisation and the broader liberation movement.
Hlongwa died on Tuesday night following a short illness, the ANC confirmed in a statement issued on Wednesday.
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family, relatives, comrades, friends and all those whose lives were touched by his unwavering commitment to the ideals of the African National Congress and the struggle for a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa. Rest in peace comrade Brian, a patriot, educator and combatant to the end,” the statement read.
The ANC Gauteng Provincial Task Team (PTT) said it was “deeply saddened” by Hlongwa’s passing, extending its condolences to his family, relatives, comrades and friends.
The party described him as a patriot, seasoned political educator and committed cadre who dedicated much of his life to the struggle for a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa.
Hlongwa formally began his political activism in 1979/1980 when he was recruited into the Congress of South African Students while still at school in Soweto, where he was known as a strong debater.
Like many young people growing up under apartheid, his political consciousness was shaped by the influence of Steve Biko and other prominent activists and leaders who emerged from Soweto during that period.
He went on to become active in several youth and civic structures, including the Soweto Youth Congress, the Southern Transvaal Youth Congress (STYCO), the South African Youth Congress (SAYCO) and later the ANC Youth League (ANCYL).
The ANC said Hlongwa belonged to the political generation known as the “Young Lions”, a term bestowed in the mid-1980s by the ANC’s National Executive Committee under the leadership of the late Oliver Reginald Tambo to describe militant youth activists of the era.
Before the unbanning of the ANC in 1990, Hlongwa was recruited into the underground structures of the ANC and Umkhonto weSizwe.
Because of his involvement in these structures, he later became part of the security detail that protected former president Nelson Mandela in the early days following his release from prison.
He was also active in the Soweto Civic Association, further cementing his role in community-based political activism.
Following the unbanning of the liberation movements, Hlongwa was elected ANCYL regional chairperson during the rebuilding of the organisation in the early 1990s.
Even while working as the national coordinator for the Labour-Intensive Projects Trust, he remained active within the ANC and ANCYL.
He later served as managing director of Harmony Developments before turning his focus to local government politics in 1996.
His entry into municipal governance saw him appointed as an executive officer for local economic development, and in 1999 he became the City of Johannesburg’s corporatisation unit head, playing a leading role in the establishment of the city’s utilities companies.
In 2000, he was elected an ANC councillor and appointed to the mayoral committee in Johannesburg, where he oversaw key service delivery portfolios including water, electricity and waste management.
Between 2006 and 2009, Hlongwa served as Gauteng MEC for Health after being elected to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).
He later became ANC chief whip in the GPL, a position he held from 2009 until 2019.
He also served for several years on the ANC Gauteng Provincial Executive Committee, where he was responsible for political education and training.
The ANC noted that he later worked at the OR Tambo School of Leadership as a manager overseeing political education programmes.
However, Hlongwa’s later political career was overshadowed by allegations of corruption linked to his tenure as health MEC.
He resigned as ANC chief whip in 2018 amid accusations that he facilitated corruption amounting to about R1.2 billion within the Gauteng Department of Health between 2006 and 2010.
The allegations included irregular payments, tender fraud and the exchange of expensive gifts and benefits to public officials.
Hlongwa consistently denied the allegations and maintained his innocence.
At the time of his death, Hlongwa and several co-accused were expected to stand trial in the Gauteng High Court in April, following delays linked to extradition processes involving one of the accused.
His tenure as health MEC was also associated with the Life Esidimeni tragedy, in which 144 mental health patients died after being transferred from state care to unlicensed NGOs.
Despite these controversies, the ANC said Hlongwa remained a central figure in the party’s political education work and acknowledged his long service to the organisation.
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