Dickson Mkono

Dickson Gcinikhaya Mkono (born 4 November 1960) is a South African politician from the Eastern Cape. He served in the National Assembly from 2001 to 2004 and in the National Council of Provinces from 2004 to 2009. He was a member of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) until March 2003, when he crossed the floor to the African National Congress (ANC).

Legislative career

National Assembly: 2001–2004

Mkono joined the National Assembly on 26 March 2001, when he was nominated by the UDM to fill the casual vacancy arising from Ndaba Mtirara's resignation. He was a member of the Eastern Cape caucus.

Two years after he was installed in his seat, during the floor-crossing window of March 2003, Mkono announced that he had resigned from the UDM to join the governing ANC. In a press statement, Mkono said that the UDM was "neither united nor democratic", claimed that the party was "losing membership like a tree shedding its leaves", and was highly critical of party leader Bantu Holomisa.

National Council of Provinces: 2004–2009

In the next general election in 2004, Mkono was elected to represent the ANC in the National Council of Provinces, where he was a permanent delegate for the Eastern Cape.