Buti Manamela

Buti Kgwaridi Manamela (born 10 July 1979) is a South African politician who is currently serving as the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology since 21 July 2025 having served as Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology since October 2017. He was formerly the Deputy Minister in the Presidency from 2014 to 2017, and he has represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly since May 2009.

Born in Limpopo, Manamela rose to prominence as a youth activist, notably as national secretary of the Young Communist League of the South African Communist Party (SACP) from December 2003 to December 2014. In this capacity, he was a champion of Jacob Zuma's presidential ambitions. He was elected to the National Assembly in the 2009 general election, and Zuma appointed him as Deputy Minister in the Presidency after the 2014 general election. His next office was as Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, a portfolio that was restructured as Higher Education, Science and Technology in the cabinet of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

In December 2022, Manamela was elected to a five-year term as a member of the ANC National Executive Committee. He has been an elected member of the SACP Central Committee since July 2012.

Early life and education Manamela was born on 10 July 1979 in Phagameng, a township in Modimolle in the former Northern Transvaal (present-day Limpopo Province). He attended Phagameng High School, where he was president of the student representative council.

After matriculating in 1997, Manamela studied towards an electronic engineering diploma at Mamelodi College (now Tshwane North College) in Pretoria. While there, he was president of the student representative council from 1998 to 1999. He had formerly defended Zuma against corruption allegations, and the YCL later supported Zuma during his rape trial.

In June 2008, the YCL condemned the "imperialist inclination" of British authorities after Manamela was detained at Heathrow Airport for several hours, according to the YCL under "barbaric interrogation... on suspicion that he is a terrorist". Manamela was on a trip to London to meet with the British Young Communist League and attend a lecture at the School of Oriental and African Studies, and he said that he was held by immigration officers for about six hours. The British High Commission said that he was subject to "routine immigration checks". During this period, he was one of the Mail & Guardian 's 200 Young South Africans in 2009 and 2010. His outgoing deputy, Khaye Nkwanyane, was slated to challenge his incumbency, but Manamela's camp reportedly reached a deal with Nkwanyane that left him uncontested. One of the issues of contestation was Manamela's close relationship with SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande: by that time, Nzimande was viewed as Manamela's political "mentor", and critics even characterised Manamela as his "puppet", though Manamela denied this. Manamela was directly elected onto the SACP's Central Committee in 2012, though he had long been an ex officio member of the committee in his YCL capacity. In 2014, he was additionally elected to the Provincial Executive Committee on the ANC's Limpopo branch.

Ahead of the YCL's fourth national congress in December 2014, Manamela announced that he would not seek election to another term as general secretary but would instead step down to allow new leaders to emerge. according to sources of the Mail & Guardian, Manamela had fallen out with Nzimande over issues including Manamela's continued support for Zuma.

Minister of Higher Education On 17 October 2017, Zuma announced a cabinet reshuffle in which Manamela was appointed as Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, serving under Hlengiwe Mkhize. He remained in that portfolio after Cyril Ramaphosa replaced Zuma in the presidency. Under Ramaphosa's second cabinet, appointed after the 2019 general election, the ministry was enlarged as the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, and Nzimande was appointed as the minister above Manamela.

In addition, at the ANC's 55th National Conference in December 2022, Manamela was elected to a five-year term as a member of the ANC National Executive Committee; he was ranked 22nd of the committee's 80 members, receiving 1,503 votes across roughly 4,000 ballots. He was also re-elected to the SACP Central Committee in 2022 and was appointed as the party's assistant secretary for internal media and publications. Buti Manamela has been appointed as Minister of higher education after Nobuhle Nkabane's resignation.

Personal life He is married to politician Vuyo Mhlakaza, with whom he has two children. He ran the Comrades Marathon in 2018.