Curnick Ndlovu

Muzivukile Curnick Ndlovu (27 July 1932 – 22 May 2002), also spelled Muzuvukile, was a South African politician, anti-apartheid activist, and trade unionist. A veteran of the African National Congress, he represented the party in the National Assembly during the first democratic Parliament from 1994 to 1999. He was also a former national chairperson of the United Democratic Front, a former secretary of the Railway and Harbour Workers' Union, and a former regional commander of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in Natal Province.

Born in the Transkei, Ndlovu rose to political prominence through the Railway and Harbour Workers' Union, an affiliate of the South African Congress of Trade Unions, which he joined in 1956 while a railway worker in Natal. He was an early recruit to MK and served as head of its inaugural regional command in Natal from 1961 to 1963. Following his arrest in June 1963, he was convicted of involvement in MK's sabotage campaign and sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment, served primarily on Robben Island. After his release from prison in September 1983, Ndlovu became active in the Natal branch of the United Democratic Front, and he was elected as the front's chairperson in 1985.

Early life and education Ndlovu was born in Matatiele in the Transkei on 27 July 1932. He was one of two sons born to Josiah Ndlovu, a railway worker, and Amelia Ndlovu. He grew up with his maternal grandparents in Matatiele, where he attended primary school before enrolling for his junior certificate at the Polela Institute in Bulwer in the former Natal Province. Other members of MK in Natal included Billy Nair, Ebrahim Ebrahim, Ronnie and Eleanor Kasrils, and David Ndawonde, and together the regional command orchestrated a programme of sabotage against government installations, including attacks on government offices, telephone installations, and the railway line.

Sabotage trial and imprisonment: 1963–1983 In April 1963, the apartheid government served Ndlovu with a banning order which restricted him to KwaMashu. After a period of police detention at Isipingo and Durban North, Ndlovu was taken to Pietermaritzburg to stand trial under the Sabotage Act; He was a member of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Labour. He served a single five-year term in his seat: although he was listed as an ANC candidate in the 1999 general election, he retired after the election due to ill health.

Personal life and death Ndlovu was married to Beauty Rose Ndlovu,

Durban's M25 highway is named after Ndlovu.