Bantu Holomisa

Bantu Holomisa co-founded the United Democratic Movement on 27 September 1997, and serves as its elected President, which in 2023 celebrated its 26th year of existence. He was, again, elected as a Member of Parliament in the 2024 National and Provincial Elections. On 3 July 2024 Mr Holomisa was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans in the Government of National Unity in the 7th Administration in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet. Holomisa served as the Commander of the Transkei Defence Force and Head of the Transkei Government (a former independent homeland) from 1987 until South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994. He was one of the first two Black individuals to attend a one-year senior staff course for officers at the South African Army College in 1984. During his leadership between 1988 and 1989, the government led by Mr Holomisa took significant steps to unban around 33 organisations that had previously been outlawed. His administration closely collaborated with liberation movements, facilitating a smooth transition in Transkei ahead of the 1994 National Elections. He further contributed to national defence policy, serving for nine years as the Deputy Chairperson of the National Defence Force Service Commission.