Kingsley Mamabolo

Kingsley Mamabolo left South Africa as a very young man armed with little beyond a fighting spirit and a desire for freedom and the dignity that comes with it. Decades later, having traversed the African continent in roles that would serve him well as a career diplomat, he returned to his family and home country.

His leadership qualities, evident very early on, had him tasked to lead his team from Angola to Germany for military training. His acute intuition enabled him to quickly appreciate the extent to which the regime would go in its attempts to silence opponents. He recalls how the organization that he served, the African National Congress (ANC), was, at regular intervals, flooded with ‘agents’ provocateurs who were sent to disrupt the well-run machine that was the ANC.

Responsibility weighed heavily on the young man, he always rose to the occasion, and on many of those, it was truly a matter of life and death. Deployed to the front-line in Zimbabwe and Mozambique, Kingsley became witness to atrocities committed by the regime, the constant attacks on individuals and communities. As a result, he has harrowing stories to tell of a tense life in exile where to survive, he and other comrades had to ensure that they were at all times, a step ahead of the agents of the regime.

A brief respite to the tension and fear of becoming a victim came when he and his family relocated to Cuba upon his appointment thereto as the ANC Representative in 1989. In Cuba, the hospitality of the People, who were themselves under siege from American Economic Blockade, was amazing. He marveled at the resilience of Cubans who survived and prospered against all odds.

In the new and democratic South Africa, Kingsley has played and continues to play a vital role. He has been appointed by and therefore, served all the presidents since the country attained the historic majority rule in 1994.

Nelson Mandela appointed him the first High Commissioner of the democratic Republic of South Africa to the Republic of Zimbabwe. Thabo Mbeki appointed him as the Ambassador to the OAU/AU, and High Commissioner to Nigeria, while Jacob Zuma appointed him as the Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Today, at the pinnacle of a great and illustrious diplomatic career, Kingsley is South Africa’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, having been appointed by Cyril Ramaphosa. All these appointments saw him crisscross the globe representing his country and its people.

It was in Zimbabwe whilst he was still in exile that he met and married his sweetheart, Eleanor (aka Noreen) who was born and bred in South Africa but migrated to Zimbabwe with her family in later years.

He was South Africa’s Ambassador to Ethiopia at the time of the transition of the OAU to the AU. This historic event was preceded by the adoption of the AU Charter. Kingsley witnessed and participated in interesting debates during the formative years of the organization that gave birth to, amongst others, the Peace and Security Architecture of the Continent, the Peer Review Mechanism, and the establishment of the Pan African Parliament.

He served as High Commissioner to Nigeria, a country he loves for the warmth and hospitality of its people, the beauty of its culture evident in their food, their fashion, and entertainment.

Kingsley has also served as South Africa’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and simultaneously, bore the additional title of Chairperson of the Group of 77 plus China (G77 and China), a diverse group of about a hundred and thirty-five small island states and developing countries within the broad family of the United Nations who come together to enhance their joint negotiating capacity in the one hundred and ninety-three member states of the global organization.

In 2015, as Chair of the G77 plus China, Kingsley led the group in negotiations at the UN that led to the adoption 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. His demeanor and personality are greatly suited to peace and conflict resolution as well as negotiations between warring groups.

In post-1994 South Africa, he has served in several roles where these qualities have been crucial. These include South Africa’s Special Envoy to the Great Lakes, where he, amongst other tasks, deputized one of his mentors, former Minister Comrade Charles Nqakula, and together with others, facilitated the comprehensive ceasefire agreement between the Government of the Republic of Burundi and the Palipehutu – FNL. He also, together with other Envoys, got engaged in negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

He represented South Africa when the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) was formed. Along with it, he and other envoys created the group constituting “Friends of the Great Lakes”, which group is chaired by Canada and the Netherlands.

Appointed Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations and to the Chairperson of the African Union, Kingsley headed a Hybrid Mission of the UN/AU known as the United Nations Mission, African Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), reporting to Secretary Generals Ban Kin Moon, Antonio Guterres and Chairpersons Dr Nkosazana Dlamini- Zuma and Moussa Faki Mahamat, respectively.

Kingsley continues to serve his country and the African continent with diligence, patriotism and the wisdom that has guided him throughout. A loving husband, caring father and African statesman.