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Sydney lawyer announces political run in South Africa elections
A Sydney criminal lawyer has announced he will return to South Africa to launch a political campaign for an independent seat.
Naomi Neilson
Lovemore Ndou, a three-time boxing champion and author of Tough Love, said he would leave his Australian practice to run as an independent candidate in South Africa’s upcoming general elections.
The African National Congress (ANC) is known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed since 1994.
“I will be able to operate as the voice of the voiceless and act as a check on the power of the government of the day,” Mr Ndou said.
“Unlike the ANC, or any of the opposition parties or independent candidates, I have no ulterior motive other than to serve the people of South Africa and lead the country out of the crisis created by ANC.
“I am deeply grounded in the best aspirations of the country, and I am not afraid to speak out and call out the culprits.”
Mr Ndou was admitted as an Australian lawyer in 2013 and started his own firm, Lovemore Lawyers, in Rockdale, Sydney.
Speaking to Lawyers Weekly in mid-2021, Mr Ndou said he had been jailed for a crime he did not commit and decided then he would either be a lawyer and “fight for justice” or become a politician.
During the interview, Mr Ndou said he had planned to return to South Africa to begin his political campaign.
“I think I can help bring some changes in South Africa.
“It has been a democratic state for 26 years now, but 26 years later and we still have people living in shacks, using a bucket sanitation system. There’s so much corruption.
“Somebody needs to step in and stop that. We need great people who can stop that, and we need leaders who are going to listen to people. The current leaders are not listening,” he said at the time.
Mr Ndou told media his story is a “quintessential South African story”.
“What further separates me from the current unfit leaders is that I bring a combination of intellectual rigour, intelligence and moral compass inextricably intertwined and intermingled,” he said.
“It will be my pleasure, honour and duty to serve South Africa.”
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
