Mosima Gabriel Sexwale was born in the township of Orlando West in Soweto on March 5, 1953. His father was a veteran of World War II who worked as a clerk at the Johannesburg General Hospital. His early life in the townships informed his need to join the struggle against apartheid.
In 1976 Sexwale was captured while fighting with the South African security forces, and was charged and later convicted of terrorism and conspiracy to overthrow the Apartheid government, along with 11 others. In 1977, Sexwale was sent to the Robben Island maximum-security prison to serve an 18-year sentence, but was released after 13 years in June 1990 under the terms of the Groote Schuur Agreement between the National Party government and the African National Congress. He spent those 13 years in prison alongside Nelson Mandela.
Sexwale officially launched his bid to run in February’s FIFA presidential election at the end of October. The announcement was made at a South African Football Association (SAFA) press conference in Johannesburg, where the former politician responded to questions from the media and set out his objectives. FIFA is in turmoil at the moment, and requires strong leadership to steady the ship and root out corruption going forward. Sexwale previously served on FIFA’s anti-discrimination task force, and is a respected name at FIFA headquarters.
Sexwale has received the support of German football legend and sports administrator Franz Beckenbauer with regards to the FIFA presidential race, as a new president is set to be elected early next year. Addressing the media at his annual Camp Beckenbauer sports conference in Kitzbuehel, Austria, the former German national team captain and coach said that he understands “the quality of the South Africans and the quality of Tokyo Sexwale”. “I certainly believe that the German Football Association would support his candidacy,” added the man affectionately known as Der Kaiser.
Source: TimesLive.
Sexwale was a founding member of the Makana FA, which was the unofficial football organisation for apartheid-era prisoners on Robben Island, where he spent 13 years as a prisoner alongside good friend Nelson Mandela. FIFA recognised the validity of the Makana FA, and Sexwale was the head of all sports at the prison, as the inmates connected and kept each other sane by getting involved in various sporting activities.
Sexwale was an important person within the apartheid struggle, joining Steve Biko’s Black Consciousness Movement in the late 1960s before becoming a local leader of the radical South African Students’ Movement. In the 1970s he joined the African National Congress’ armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe. In 1975, Sexwale went into self-imposed exile, travelling to the Soviet Union to receive military training, where he specialised in military engineering. Upon his return to South Africa he arrested in by security forces and sentenced to 18 years in jail for of terrorism and conspiracy to overthrow the government. He served 13 years of this time in Robben Island, alongside Nelson Mandela.
Once the apartheid government fell and the ANC came into power in 1994, Sexwale was chosen as the first Premier of the PWV Province, which was renamed Gauteng. Sexwale left politics for the corporate sector in 1998, but would return to a ministerial leadership position in 2009 when he was appointed as the Minister of Human Settlements, which replaced the Department of Housing. He has since left politics once again, when president Jacob Zuma reshuffled his cabinet and had Sexwale replaced.
The former Robben Island inmate made the decision to leave politics in 1998, in order to make his mark on the corporate sphere. Sexwale founded Mvelaphanda Holdings, and remains their executive chairman. Mvelaphanda is primarily focused on the mining (diamonds in particular), energy and related sectors. His business pedigree is now well established, and he now chairs companies such as the Trans Hex Group Ltd. and Northam Platinum Ltd., while he is a director of companies such as Absa Group Limited, Allied Electronics Corporation Ltd. and Gold Fields Ltd.
In 2005 Sexwale hosted the South African version of the reality television show made famous in the US by billionaire Donald Trump. At the end of the show, which lasted a single season, Sexwale chose to hire both finalists, Zanele Batyashe and Khomotso Choma, which upset many fans of the show due to the unorthodox finale. Instead of using the typical catch phrase of “You’re Fired”, coined by Trump, Sexwale opted to use the more diplomatic, “You’re dismissed”.
In 2002, the businessman attempted to enter the US to attend the listing of Gold Fields on the New York Stock Exchange, as he owned a stake in that company. He was unable to attend as he was refused a visa to enter due to the fact that he was still on the country’s list of global terrorists, along with many prominent South African anti-apartheid figures such as Nelson Mandela and Sidney Mufamadi. In 2013 he was detained and questioned at JFK International Airport as his name still appeared on a terrorist watch list. The South African ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool, was forced to intervene with the US state department to secure Sexwale’s release.
Sexwale’s long business and political career has seen him recognised with numerous awards and honours from a variety of countries. He has received the Légion d’honneur from France, and is an honorary Consul General of Finland in South Africa. He has also been awarded the Order of the Freedom of Havana (Cuba), the Cross of Valour (Ruby Class) from South Africa, and the Reach and Teach Leadership Award, from the US. In addition to those awards, he has an honorary doctorate in technology from Nottingham Trent University, and an honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from De Montfort University.
The nickname Tokyo, which has become so widely used that many believe it is his actual name, stems from his youth, when he was interested in karate and his friends coined the name ‘Tokyo’ in reference to his appreciation for the art of karate. The name stuck, and many people would not know that his actual full name is Mosima Gabriel Sexwale.
