Politics
Charles Nqakula was elected publicity secretary of the fledgling United Democratic Front (UDF) in 1983, and was arrested the same year in East London for being in South Africa without a visa. By this time Nqakula was an underground operative for the ANC, specialising in propaganda. He left South Africa in 1984 travelling to Lesotho, Tanzania and Zambia. He underwent military training in Angola and joined MK the armed wing of the ANC. He also travelled to the Soviet Union and East Germany for further military training.
He infiltrated South Africa on his return as one of the commanders of Operation Vula, with a mission to build viable underground and military structures. In 1988, he served as commander in the Western Cape. Emerging from the underground in 1991, he was granted amnesty by the government. He served on the interim leadership group of the SACP, as convenor of its National Organising Committee. He was also a member of its Political Committee and served on the SACP Secretariat. He was elected SACP Deputy Secretary-General in 1991 and became Secretary-General following the assassination of Chris Hani in April 1993.
Upon the demise of the apartheid government and the election of President Nelson Mandela in 1994, Nqakula was elected to the National Executive Committee of the ANC. He later served as Parliamentary Counsellor to the President. On 24 January 2001 Charles Nqakula was appointed as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, becoming Minister of Safety and Security on 7 May 2002.
After President Thabo Mbeki was forced to resign in September 2008, Nqakula was moved to the post of Minister of Defense in the cabinet of Mbeki's successor, Kgalema Motlanthe, on 25 September 2008.
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