Sheila Coleen Nkhensani Sithole (née Shope; born 4 February 1948) is a South African politician who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 2009 to 2019.
[3] In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994,[2] Sithole was appointed as chairperson of the Commission on Women in the office of the Premier of Limpopo (then called the Northern Province), Ngoako Ramatlhodi.
[5][6] In a dramatic encounter in August 1994, Phosa arrived in Bushbuckridge in a helicopter to rescue Ramatlhodi and Sithole from protestors who had surrounded them; Sithole's supporters later alleged that Phosa's camp had staged the demonstration and pre-arranged the rescue.
[4] In April 1995, Phosa allegedly referred to Sithole and two other ANC members as "mapanyulas" (a Tsonga profanity meaning "animal arsehole") at a rally, and Sithole announced that she would sue him for defamation, seeking R300,000 in damages.
[4][6] Sithole was not re-elected to the provincial legislature in 1999[7] but returned for another term after the 2004 general election.