Dr. Khulu Mbatha serves as Adviser to the President of the African Democratic Alliance for Freedom and Progress (ADAFP) on Strategic Affairs, bringing decades of experience in international relations, governance, and policy development.
A distinguished South African diplomat, scholar, and policy expert, Dr. Mbatha has held senior advisory roles at the highest levels of government. He served as Special Adviser to former President Kgalema Motlanthe and later as Adviser on International Relations to President Cyril Ramaphosa, contributing to strategic policy formulation and international engagement. He also served as Consul-General to Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany, strengthening diplomatic and economic relations between South Africa and Europe .
Dr. Mbatha has over four decades of experience in international affairs and has held executive and advisory roles in both public institutions and private sector organizations. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow at Africa Asia Dialogues (Afrasid), where he focuses on geopolitical and development issues across Africa and beyond .
An accomplished author, researcher, and public intellectual, he has written extensively on governance and political history. His notable publications include “Unmasked: Why the ANC Failed to Govern” (2017) and “Scattered: A Personal Story of the 1976 Generation” (2022). In collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, he also produced the traveling exhibition “Negotiating Democracy” (2020), which explores South Africa’s transition to democracy .
Dr. Mbatha holds a PhD from Friedrich Schiller University in Germany and is fluent in German, reflecting his strong international academic and professional background.
As Adviser on Strategic Affairs, he provides high-level guidance to ADAFP’s leadership, supporting long-term strategy, international partnerships, and policy development aimed at strengthening democracy, governance, and sustainable development across Africa.