mzi khumalo is a south african businessman, investor and mining entrepreneur. Born in durban, in 1955, khumalo joined political party, african national congress (anc), and its military wing, umkhonto wesizwe. In 1978, he was arrested and charged with treason and sentenced to 20 years in island-prison robben island. In 1990, after serving 12 years, he was released together with all other anc leaders and other political prisoners, including nelson mandela. Following his release from prison, mzi khumalo subsequently became the provincial treasurer of the anc in kwazululu-natal and a member of the national finance committee of the anc. In 1994, khumalo went into business, going on to serve on the boards of a number of publicly listed and state-owned companies, including telecommunications company telkom sa, mining company anglo-american sa, financial services business south african government financial services advisory board, and ridge mining plc. He was also the chairman of johannesburg consolidated investment ltd (jci), mintech, and durban point waterfront company, which was instrumental in the redevelopment of the harbour-side town located at the entrance to the port of durban. He went on to found financial services company capital alliance holdings, which was subsequently sold with $8 billion worth of assets under management. In 2002, mzi khumalo founded metallon corporation, a company based in london, united kingdom, involved in mining operations in zimbabwe and tanzania, as well as telecommunication infrastructure in the democratic republic of congo, where he remains chairman. Khumalo is also chairman of gold and general, a jersey-based company which is a family holding business, which owns the majority shares in metallon corporation as well as other family investments. mzi khumalo is a trustee of the world wildlife fund of southern africa and his family owns and manages a private game reserve focused on conservation and preservation of endangered wildlife and plants. Khumalo holds a bachelor of commerce degree from the university of south africa.