His mother Flamma Cingashe Nkonyeni was a nurse and his father Canon Joshua Bernard Mbizo Mzamane was an Anglican priest; both were community leaders.
He held various academic positions in Lesotho, Botswana, England, Nigeria, USA, Germany, Australia and South Africa.
[1] Mbulelo returned to South Africa in 1993 and in 1994 he became the first post-apartheid Vice Chancellor and Rector of the University of Fort Hare,[6] where he also held the faculty rank of Professor in the Department of English Studies and Comparative Literature.
After leaving the University of Fort Hare, he was a vocal contributor to international debate on issues confronting African populations on the continent and in the diaspora of the Americas.
In June 2013 Mbulelo was the guest speaker at the inaugural Can Themba Memorial Lecture alongside Nadine Gordimer and Joe Thloloe.
Mbulelo was a popular personality on the international speaking scene[10] and some of his works have been translated into several languages including German, French, Russian, Dutch and Slavic.