Dr. Murunwa Makwarela was a well-known South African politician, genetic engineer, academic, and businessman who served as the mayor of Tshwane. Born in 1972 in the Transvaal Province of South Africa.
Murunwa Makwarela, a politician, genetic engineer, scholar, and businessman from South Africa, was born in 1972 and passed away on April 23, 2024. He was the mayor of Tshwane from February 28, 2023, until his dismissal on March 7, 2023, due to his declaration of insolvency in 2016.
Makwarela was given his job back on March 9, 2023, but he resigned on March 10, 2023, after it was discovered that the rehabilitation certificate he had presented to get his job back was fake. He was the only council member for the party in the municipality and a previous member of the Congress of the People. He held the position of council speaker before being elected mayor, participating in a multi-party coalition headed by the Democratic Alliance and other parties.
Murunwa Makwarela Childhood and Schooling
In Cullinan, outside of Pretoria, in what was then the Transvaal Province of South Africa, Makwarela was born in 1972. He was raised in the Venda bantustan’s Tshitereke hamlet. Makwarela earned a Bachelor of Science in Botany and Zoology from the University of Venda in 1994.
After that, he continued his education at the University of Natal’s Durban campus, where he graduated in 1995 with an honors degree in plant biotechnology and in 1997 with a master’s degree in tissue culture and eucalyptus cold tolerance. In 2006, he obtained his PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand. He conducted his research at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Institute in Missouri, USA, while pursuing his doctorate.
Murunwa Makwarela Career in Politics
In 2020, Makwarela was named the Congress of the People’s regional chairperson in Tshwane. In the November 2021 local government elections, he was chosen as the party’s lone councilor in the City of Tshwane, using proportional representation.
Tshwane’s Mayor
Makwarela was nominated for mayor during a council meeting on February 28, 2023, by the African Transformation Movement, which has the backing of the ANC and EFF. In the mayoral vote, Makwarela prevailed over Brink with the support of 112 council members against just 101 for Brink. There is a suspicion that Makwarela received votes from a few coalition members of the DA.
Murunwa Makwarela’s Removal from Office
After it was discovered that Makwarela had been declared insolvent in 2016, it was determined on March 7, 2023, that he had violated Section 47(1)(c) of the constitution, which says that those who are “unrehabilitated insolvents” cannot occupy public office. He was consequently deprived of his mayoralty and barred from serving as a PR council member of the Tshwane City Council.
Makwarela was given a notice by the office of city manager Johann Mettler to demonstrate that he has subsequently undergone rehabilitation, but he did not submit any supporting documentation. Two days later, after he produced a certificate of solvency rehabilitation, his reinstatement as mayor and council member was questioned for its validity.
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria released a statement the next day claiming that Makwarela had never received a rehabilitation certificate from the court and that the document he had given the municipality was a fake. On that same day, he then tendered his resignation as mayor and council member. Furthermore, it was stated that he was no longer a COPE member. On March 28, 2023, Brink was chosen to take over as mayor in his place.
Murunwa Makwarela Age
Makwarela was born in 1972 and was aged 51 when he died.
Murunwa Makwarela’s Death
At the age of 51, Makwarela passed away on April 23, 2024, following a brief illness.
Leave a Reply