Sponono Baloyi

Sponono Francinah Baloyi (10 July 1940 – 12 May 2021) was a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1994 until her retirement in 2004. A nurse by profession, she was briefly the Minister of Health and Welfare in the government of the KaNgwane bantustan from 1992 to 1994.

Early life and medical career Sponono was born on 10 July 1940 After finishing high school, she moved to Johannesburg, where she studied nursing at the Raheema Moosa Mother and Child Hospital and midwifery at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.

In the interim between those two positions, she studied public health at Witswatersrand Advanced Technikon in 1971, and during her time there, she won an award from the South African Institute of Public Health for obtaining the highest marks in the country. She served two terms in the seat, gaining re-election in 1999, before retiring to Mbombela after the 2004 general election. In 2019, the Tshwane University of Technology awarded her an honorary doctorate in nursing.

Personal life and death She was married to Fanyana Baloyi, a prominent businessman in Mpumalanga and formerly an administrator at Rob Ferreira Hospital. She died on 12 May 2021 after a short illness; her husband had died five days earlier.