Lassy Chiwayo
Lassy Chiwayo | |
|---|---|
Chiwayo in 2024 | |
| Mayor of Mbombela | |
| In office June 2008 – May 2011 | |
| Succeeded by | Cathy Dlamini |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lekota Lazarus Chiwayo 11 October 1966 |
| Citizenship | South Africa |
| Party | African National Congress |
| Children | 3 |
Lekota Lazarus "Lassy" Chiwayo (born 11 October 1966) is a South African politician, diplomat, and businessman from Mpumalanga. He was Mayor of Mbombela from 2008 until 2011, when he joined the diplomatic service.
Chiwayo rose to prominence in the 1980s as an anti-apartheid activist and young inmate of Robben Island. After the end of apartheid in 1994, he served in both houses of Parliament and in the Mpumalanga Executive Council under Premier Mathews Phosa. He retreated to a full-time career in business until June 2008, when he returned to front-line politics to enter the mayoral office. His tenure in the position coincided with Mbombela's preparations to serve as a host city in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as well as with the concomitant political turmoil over alleged corruption in related contracts. During this period, Chiwayo was a key rival and critic of Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza.
Chiwayo left the mayoral office after the May 2011 local elections and was subsequently appointed as South African consul-general to Shanghai, China. He was recalled from that position in early 2013.