In the National Assembly, before his appointment as Chief Whip, Yengeni chaired the Joint Standing Committee on Defence in the first democratic Parliament from 1994 to 1998.
[4] He went into exile with the ANC in the Frontline States, receiving military training at Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) camps in Lesotho, Botswana, Zambia, and Angola; he also travelled to Moscow in the Soviet Union to study for a social science diploma in 1982.
[5] Awaiting trial in Pollsmoor Prison, he and the others mounted a hunger strike which received public attention, demanding improvements in detention conditions, including that they – the defendants – should not be held in racially segregated facilities.
"[5] In March 1991, during an adjournment of the trial and amid ongoing negotiations to end apartheid, Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee announced that Yengeni and the others had been indemnified and would be released.
[4] He became a popular figure in Western Cape politics, aligning himself with populist leaders like Winnie Mandela and Peter Mokaba and campaigning militantly for the ANC ahead of the 1994 general election.
[10][11] Also during this period, Yengeni gained national attention for his July 1997 appearance at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, where he cross-examined Jeffrey Benzien, a former member of the South African Police, who had severely tortured him during his apartheid-era detention on terrorism charges.
According to the Sunday Times, EADS admitted that the company "helped" approximately 30 South African officials to obtain luxury vehicles.
[18] Yengeni eventually entered into a plea agreement in which various corruption charges were dismissed in exchange for his pleading guilty to one count of fraud.
[26] Upon his release from prison, Yengeni was expected immediately to resume his political activities, with the ANC saying that he had served his suspension from the party and would "be able to continue his contribution to building a united, democratic, non-racial and non-sexist society".
[27][28] Indeed, even while in prison, Yengeni had accepted social visits from Jacob Zuma and Tokyo Sexwale, both of whom presumably sought his help lobbying support in the Western Cape for their respective presidential campaigns.
[29][30] As expected,[27] Yengeni publicly endorsed Zuma's presidential bid, saying that, "He is a seasoned revolutionary and although he's not an angel, he has the gravitas, experience and intelligence to unite the organisation [the ANC].
[36][37] On one ANC meeting in June 2012, Yengeni reportedly verbally attacked Blade Nzimande during a heated argument about Zuma's leadership.
[39][40] Also in 2022, the ANC's Electoral Commission announced that Yengeni himself would not be eligible to stand for re-election to the National Executive Committee, because his fraud conviction disqualified him under the new step-aside rule.
[44] In November 2007, Yengeni was arrested near Goodwood, Cape Town on suspicion of drunk driving, which would constitute a violation of his parole conditions.
[56] The Cultural, Religion and Linguistic Rights Commission defended Yengeni, saying that his actions were part of a cleansing ritual and therefore constitutionally protected.