Sifiso Dabengwa dies

Zimbabwean-born South African corporate executive Raymond Sifiso Dabengwa, former president and CEO of telecoms giant MTN Group and a board member of Eskom, has passed away at the age of 66.

Dabengwa, a brother to the late Zimbabwean liberation hero and former Zipra intelligence chief Dumiso Dabengwa, was married to prominent South African corporate leader Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, the current CEO of Naspers South Africa. She previously co-founded Sigma Capital and led Shanduka Group as its CEO.

Raymond Dabengwa was closely connected to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who served as MTN's board chair during his corporate career. Ramaphosa, who also founded the Shanduka Group, where Dabengwa's wife Phuthi previously worked, collaborated with Dabengwa at MTN.

Sifiso Dabengwa's connections to influential figures in South Africa, including ANC leaders such as Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, as well as uMkhonto weSizwe commanders, helped him navigate the post-apartheid era. His brother Dumiso's prominent role in the liberation struggle, including his participation in the 1967 Wankie Campaign and his close ties to ANC leaders, further cemented Sifiso's access to high offices.

Born in Zimbabwe on April 5, 1958, Dabengwa grew up in Bulawayo and later moved to South Africa in the late 1970s. He completed his education in Zimbabwe, earning a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Zimbabwe, and later obtained an MBA from Wits Business School in Johannesburg. He also participated in Extended Degree Programmes aimed at promoting equity and student success.

Dabengwa began his career with British Rail and later Rhodesia Railways (now the National Railways of Zimbabwe) before moving to South Africa, where he worked for a consulting engineering firm in Pretoria. He was involved in projects across Botswana, Swaziland (now Eswatini), and the former apartheid bantustan of Bophuthatswana.

Dabengwa joined Eskom, South Africa's power utility, where he played a key role in the planning and implementation of the national electrification programme, a cornerstone of the Reconstruction and Development Plan. This programme successfully increased electricity access in South African households from 35% in 1990 to 84% in 2011. During his tenure at Eskom, he managed a division with a multibillion-rand budget, employing 17,000 people and generating over R20 billion in annual revenue.

After his successful tenure at Eskom, Dabengwa joined MTN, Africa's largest telecoms company, where he held various roles before becoming President and CEO on March 31, 2011. His leadership at MTN ended in 2015 following a US$5.2 billion fine imposed by Nigerian regulators due to the company's failure to disconnect over five million unregistered SIM cards. The fine was later reduced to US$3.9 billion, and Dabengwa received a R23.7 million severance package upon his resignation.

Throughout his career, Dabengwa served on numerous corporate boards, including Impala Platinum Holdings, Dawn Suite Hotel Group, Peermont Global, and Gijima Group Limited, among others. His legacy in both the corporate and public sectors remains significant, especially in his contributions to South Africa's electrification efforts and the telecommunications industry.