Sinenhlanhla Mnguni: face of the tobacco industry

Sinenhlanhla Mnguni cut his teeth in human rights law, fighting for social justice. Today, as chairman of the Fair Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita), he’s the face of the local tobacco industry.

They may seem worlds apart, but when he talks about them, both these hats reflect how Mnguni sees his role in society: as a voice for those he believes are vulnerable.

“For me, the most important thing is playing my part in ensuring the South Africa I leave is better than the South Africa I came into and that future generations don’t have to go through what people like my father went through,” Mnguni says.

His parents fought on the front lines of the struggle against apartheid. His father Louis, a philosophy lecturer at what was then University of the North, ended up being elected as one of the first members of parliament in the new democratic dispensation. He went on to be appointed South Africa’s high commissioner to Mauritius.

“He was actually in detention when I was born,” Mnguni said. He does not talk publicly about his parents often, but his eyes shine when he does.

“My parents are very humble, down-to-earth people and they don’t really like being in the limelight,” he said.

Fita chair Sinenhlanhla Mnguni has an interview with The Citizen, 2 September 2020, at the Fita offices in Norwood. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark

But they taught him the value of hard work. The son of a domestic worker, his father was from humble beginnings.

“He was an avid reader and he loved learning so he had to find a way to educate himself,” Mgnuni said.

“He was fortunate along the way. My grandmother’s employer ended up making sure his tuition was covered, but my dad really became who he became through the kindness and generosity of someone else and hard work.”

His parents have also grounded him. By the time he was 30, Mnguni had opened his own law firm and had been appointed as chair of Fita to represent the collective interests of the country’s independent cigarette manufacturers. This sector of the industry today contributes about R5 billion a year in excise tax. But his friends and family have never let him rest on his laurels.

“I could go to my mother today and say I had met Barack Obama and he wanted me to be his advisor and she’d say, ‘that’s interesting’,” he joked this week. “They’ve always expected more from me.”

So what was next? After completing his law degree at the University of Witwatersrand, Mnguni did articles at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies.

“There were a number of really interesting matters we did while I was there and I really enjoyed it. I’m really passionate about human rights, especially basic human rights,” he said.

But he had to get experience in other areas of law to be admitted as an attorney and so Mnguni wound up leaving the centre to join a private firm in Bedfordview. Two years after that he was admitted. In 2015, Mnguni started his own firm and a year after that he took the Fita gig. He admits he knew next to nothing about the industry at the time but buoyed by the confidence of youth, he dived head-first into his new role and is proud of what has been achieved since.

“I think everyone in South Africa knows what Fita is and who we are and what we stand for,” he said.

“It’s been a process but I think we’ve really grown, to the point where we sit at the table with key stakeholders, both in the business sector and in the political sphere now.”

He wants to keep that momentum going into the future.

“There’s very big scope for growth in the tobacco industry in Africa and I think Fita has a very big role to play there,” he said.

He also wants to grow his own firm, at which he still practises law, into an institution. Ultimately, though, his end goal is just to leave a mark.

“I think we live in a country with so much potential and whatever success I attain doesn’t count for much unless I feel like I’m really helping the country become the country I want it to be. I often talk with my parents about the current state of the country and I sometimes see the disappointment in someone like my father, who gave the best years of his life to South Africa.

“I feel like it’s upon us, as the next generation, to take the baton from them now.”

– bernadettew@citizen.co.za

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