[2][3] Baldwin Sipho "Ben" Ngubane was born in 1941 at Inchanga Roman Catholic Mission in Camperdown outside Pietermaritzburg in what later became KwaZulu-Natal province.

In 1992 Ngubane was part of Inkatha's delegation to CODESA; he served on a working group which dealt with constitutional principles and constitution-making.

In 2020, Ngubane was twice called to testify before The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture in his capacities as, first, former SABC board chairperson, then, secondly, as the chairman of Eskom.

In 2010, Ngubane was awarded an honorary PhD degree from the University of the Free State for his "contribution towards positioning South Africa as a major and an influential player in the development of arts, culture, science and technology internationally".

[15] Later that year he also received the Grand Cordon of the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun for his contributions "to the enhancement of the relationship and the cooperation in science and technology between Japan and South Africa".