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Tokyo Sexwale, South African Businessman, human rights activist, and former politician at the 2007 World Economic Forum on Africa, Jun 13-15 2007, Cape Town – By Tokyo_Sexwale_and_Li_Ruogu –

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Tokyo Sexwale

Mosima Gabriel “Tokyo” Sexwale is a South African businessman, politician, and anti-apartheid activist. Sexwale was born on 5th March 1953 in Transvaal, South Africa.

Sexwale has been a constant character in South Africa鈥檚 recent history. Like many anti-apartheid activists such as Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu, he was imprisoned on Robben Island.

He has served in recent South African Governments under Nelson Mandela and Jacob Zuma. Sexwale got into the business world and quickly became a success story of black economic empowerment in South Africa.

Recently, Sexwale even ran for FIFA presidency albeit unsuccessfully. Below are facts about the life of the Tokyo Sexwale.

1. He Went to Exile in The Soviet Union

Early in the 1970s, Sexwale joined the African National Congress’s (ANC鈥檚) armed wing. This wing was popularly known as Umkhonto we Sizwe (“spear of the nation”).

At this same time, he went to Swaziland where he studied at the University of Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Sexwale completed a diploma in business studies and registered for a BCom while working with ANC members in Swaziland.

His activities were detected and following an attempted arrest in 1975, he fled to Moscow, Soviet Union. Here, he underwent military and political training.

2. He Was Imprisoned on Robben Island

Interior of a Prison by Tracy Lundgren from

In 1976, Sexwale returned to South Africa from his exile in South Africa. Following a violent confrontation with South African security forces, Sexwale was arrested alongside 11 other people.

Sexwale, along with the other 11, were promptly charged with charges of terrorism and conspiracy to overthrow the government. After almost two years of trials, the Supreme Court of South Africa in Pretoria sentenced Sexwale to 18 years in prison.

He was to serve the sentence in the maximum-security prison on Robben Island. While in prison, he studied for a BCom degree at the University of South Africa. In June 1990, he was released under terms of the Groote Schuur Agreement having served 13 years in prison.

3. Got into Politics After Release from Prison

After release from prison, Sexwale became the head of the public liaison department of the ANC at the Johannesburg headquarters. In 1990, he was elected as a member of the executive committee of the ANC in the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging (PWV) region.

In 1991, he became ANC鈥檚 chairperson in the PWV region. He held this position up until 1997 when he resigned.

4. He Was the First Premier of Gauteng Province

South Africa held its first elections in April 1994. Following the elections, Sexwale was elected as the first premier of the PWV province. The province would be renamed Gauteng Province in December 1994. In this role, he was credited with bringing peace to several politically volatile townships.

5. He Left Politics In 1998

Mbeki at a United Nations meeting on Sudan, July 2019 – By UN Photo –

In 1997, Tokyo Sexwale resigned from his position as chairperson of the ANC in the PWV region. In 1998, he completely left politics and ventured into the corporate sector.

His ventures as a businessman have been successful in helping Sexwale amass tremendous wealth. However, the reasons for him quitting politics remain unclear but there have been several theories and plausible explanations.

One is that he felt that government restrictions were holding him back while he was growing increasingly tired of ANC intrigues. Another reason is that after Mandela stepped down as President, Sexwale alongside Ramaphosa and Mbeki were primed as possible candidates.

However, once Thabo Mbeki came out as the favorite candidate, Sexwale left politics opting to become a businessman.

6. He Is the Founder of Mvelaphanda Holdings

Mining Excavator by Khusen Rustamov from

After taking a leave of absence from politics and the public sector, Sexwale founded Mvelaphanda Holdings. Mvelaphanda is a Venda word translating to “progress”. Sexwale serves as the executive chairman of the company.

Mvelaphanda Holdings has its primary functions in mining, energy, and other related sectors. It is through this company that Sexwale has gained a large number of holdings in the mining sector. More so diamond and oil mining.

In January 2008, Sexwale鈥檚 Mvelaphanda Holdings, OZ Management, and Walter Hennig’s Palladino Holdings merged. They then announced the creation of a new joint venture called Africa Management Limited Africa Management Limited.

7. The Nickname 鈥淭okyo鈥� Has Origins from His Youth

Sexwale is synonymous with the name 鈥楾okyo鈥�. This name has been with him since his youth. The nickname is derived from his involvement with the sport of Karate as a young man.

Sexwale is a father to four children. Two of them are from his first marriage, while the other two are from his second wife Judy van Vuuren.

Judy was a paralegal who represented Sexwale when he was serving his prison sentence on Robben Island. In 2013, Sexwale and Judy filed for divorce.

8. Sexwale Is an Award Winner

Sexwale is an accomplished politician and businessman. Due to his success, he has received many awards and honors throughout his career.

These include L茅gion d’honneur from France and an honorary doctorate from Nottingham Trent University. Sexwale has also received an honorary doctorate from De Montfort University and the Order of the Freedom of Havana (Cuba).

Tokyo Sexwale is also the chancellor of the Vaal University of Technology. Other honors awarded to Sexwale include the Cross of Valor (Ruby Class) from South Africa, and the Reach and Teach Leadership Award, from the United States.

9. Sexwale Ran for The FIFA Presidency In 2015

Infantino with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the 68th FIFA Congress, 13 June 2018 – By Kremlin.ru –

In 2015, FIFA was rocked by a lot of controversies and this eventually led to changes in the organization鈥檚 management. One of the open positions was the presidency of the organization.

In July 2015, Sexwale was tipped to be one of the possible candidates by various sources. However, it wasn鈥檛 up until a few days before the closing date that Sexwale joined the race.

Other candidates were Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrein, Frenchmen Jerome Champagne and Michel Platini, Swiss Gianni Infantino, and Liberian Musa Bility.

Sexwale did not win but instead lost out to the Swiss Gianni Infantino who is the acting FIFA president at the time of writing this.

10. He Served Under Jacob Zuma as Minister of Human Settlements

In 2007, Sexwale was touted as a strong candidate for Deputy President of the ANC. Later in the same year, he announced his candidacy for the ANC presidential candidate nomination.

He however stepped down and backed Jacob Zuma who was the then Deputy President. He however opted out of running as Zuma鈥檚 deputy president in the elections. In 2009, he was appointed as Minister of Human Settlements by President Jacob Zuma.