The Order of Mendi for Bravery in

Silver

Dr Sizakele Sigxashe (Posthumous) Awarded for:

His excellent contribution to the fight against the oppression of the people of South Africa. His braver y and courage of convictions saw him leave his home and loved ones into distant lands to fight for the freedom that is enjoyed today.

Profile of Dr Sizakele Sigxashe

Dr Sizakele Sigxashe was born on 21 June 1937. He joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1959 and became involved in its anti-apartheid activities. He left the country in 1964 and joined ANC ranks in exile.

Dr Sigxashe went to Russia where he received military training and also pursued his studies and obtained a PhD in Economics. After completing his studies, he returned to Tanzania where he worked as a lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam in the 1970s. During this period he also did underground work for the ANC.

In 1970 he joined the ANC’s armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and when its intelligence arm was formed in 1978, Dr Sigxashe was appointed as one of its operatives. He then worked as Chair of the Intelligence Services Council on Conditions of Service before being appointed a military intelligence researcher. Thereafter, he was seconded to the Defence Ministry in Angola in 1976.
 
He worked closely with those in MK’s intelligence circles such as President Jacob Zuma and former Minister of Intelligence, the late Mr Joe Nhlanhla. When a mutiny broke out in MK in 1984, the ANC established the Stuart Commission of Inquiry headed by James Stuart (Hermanus Loots). Dr Sigxashe was appointed as one of the commissioners alongside Anthony Mongalo, Aziz Pahad and Mtu Jwili.

After the fall of the apartheid government, the different intelligence agencies were integrated and Dr Sigxashe was appointed as the first Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency.