Lennox Sebe

Lennox Sebe
1stPresident of Ciskei
In office 4 December 1981 – 4 March 1990
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Oupa Gqozo(Chairman of the Military Committee and of the Council of State)
2nd Chief Minister of Ciskei
In office 21 May 1973 – July 1975
Preceded by	Justice Mabandla
Succeeded by	Charles Sebe
In office 24 October 1975 – 4 December 1981
Preceded by	Charles Sebe
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	Lennox Wongama Sebe 26 July 1926 Belstone,Cape,South Africa
Died	23 July 1994(1994-07-23)(aged 67) South Africa
Political party	Ciskei National Independence Party
Parent	Charles Sebe(brother)

Lennox Leslie Wongama Ngweyesizwe Sebe(26 July 1926 – 23 July 1994) was the chief minister of theXhosabantustanofCiskeiafter its self-rule in 1972, and the nominally independent country's firstpresidentfrom 1983.He was the Chief of the AmaKhambashe Tribal Authority and his praise name (isikhahlelo) wasNgweyesizwe.

Early life

Born in Belstone, nearKing William's Townand he is brother ofCharles Sebe,Sebe worked first as a school teacher before being appointed as a school principal in 1954. In 1968, Sebe was elected as a representative of theXhosa Kingdom's AmaNtinde chieftaincy in the Ciskeian Territorial Authority and became responsible for Educational and Cultural Affairs, before transferring to the Agriculture portfolio in 1971.

Rise to power

Sebe founded theCiskei National Independence Partyand contested Ciskei's inaugural election in February 1973. He was elected to the Zwelitsha electorate and succeededChief Justice Mabandlato become the second Chief Minister of Ciskei on 21 May 1973. He would then become president when Ciskei was granted nominal independence fromSouth Africaon 4 December 1981. Sebe declared himselfPresident for Lifein 1983.

Sebe was faced with leading an economically unviable state, with a population of one million, many of them Xhosa forced to relocate to the bantustan in the 1970s, during South Africa'sapartheidregime.

Dictatorship

Immediately upon independence, Sebe consolidated power in a dictatorship, supported by the 1,000-strong military force. He crushed all opposition, including bitter protests against a transitfare strikein 1983 (most residents worked outside the bantustan, and relied on public transportation to get them to work). That same year, Sebe's brother, Lieutenant GeneralCharles Sebe,head of Ciskei's intelligence service, attempted to overthrow the government. Though Charles Sebe was arrested, he escaped from prison in 1986 and made his way to nearbyTranskei,where he continued to agitate against the regime. In 1987, he orchestrated thekidnappingof Sebe's son Khwane, who was held prisoner inTranskeiuntil Sebe agreed to release political prisoners in exchange for his son.

Sebe visitedIsraelon several occasions during his presidency and established a trade office inTel Avivthat was run by two Israelis with ties to theGush EmunimIsraeli settlermovement. During this period, the Ciskeian capital,Bisho,signed a sister-city agreement with the settlement community ofArielin theWest Bank.Sebe once claimed that Israel had granted official recognition to Ciskei, although theIsraeli Foreign Ministrydenied this.

Collapse

Sebe was overthrown bya military coupled by Brigadier GeneralOupa Gqozoon 4 March 1990 while on state visit toHong Kongand charged withcorruptionandhuman rightsviolations.He died in 1994 after the reintegration to Ciskei in South Africa.

Sources

• Polakow-Suransky, S. (2010)The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa,Pantheon Books: New York.ISBN9780375425462.