New deputy head appointed for Darfur peacekeeping mission

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and AU Commission Chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma announced today the appointment of Jeremiah Nyamane Kingsley Mamabolo of South Africa as Deputy Joint Special Representative for the AU-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (Unamid).

Mamabolo succeeds Abiodun Oluremi Bashua of Nigeria, to whom the Secretary-General and the Commission Chairperson are grateful for his dedicated service during his tenure with Unamid, including his contribution as acting Head of the Mission.

The new deputy head brings a wealth of experience from his distinguished career in the diplomatic service, Unamid announced in a press statement on Wednesday.

Since 2013, he has served as South African Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, during which time he also acted as Chair of the Group of 77 and China. In 2009, he was appointed High Commissioner of the Republic of South Africa to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Previously, Mamabolo facilitated peace processes in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi as the Special Envoy of the Republic of South Africa to the Great Lakes Region (2006-2009). He also served as Deputy Director-General for African Affairs in the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2002-2006), the statement reads.

Mamabolo held other senior positions, such as the Permanent Representative of the Republic of South Africa to the AU and to Ethiopia, Sudan, and Djibouti (1999-2002), during which time he led efforts to promote dialogue in post-war Sierra Leone in his capacity as the AU Special Envoy to Sierra Leone and the Mano River Basin (2001-2002). He was also South Africa’s High Commissioner to the Republic of Zimbabwe (1995-1999).

He holds a Master’s degree in public administration from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, a diploma in journalism from Harare Polytechnic College, Zimbabwe, and a graduate diploma in social sciences from Moscow School of Social Sciences, Russia.

Born in 1955, he is married and has four children.