Dr. Ralph Mgijima received his high school education at St. John’s College in Umtata, Eastern Cape. After completing his matric he studied medicine at the Medical School of the University of Natal. While still a student, Mgijima became involved in community development projects in and around Durban.   

Mgijima was one of the co-founders the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO) in early the 1970s. His study was interrupted when he was forced into exile after drawing attention of the Special Branch by his involvement in African National Congress activities. He left the country two months before he sat for his final examinations at the Medical School. Mgijima continued his studies in exile and completed MBCHB at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, in 1977. He proceeded to the UK for further study and obtained a diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Mgijima worked as a chief medical officer and managed hospitals and district services in Angola, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. His services were also enlisted by the ANC to direct its Health Services in various Southern African countries. He actively participated in the drafting of the ANC Health Policy as a coordinator and contributed to the health section of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) in 1994. In South Africa, Mgijima served in different positions. He was secretary for health of the ANC, consultant for the Johannesburg City Council, and superintendent general of health in the Gauteng government.

In 2001 he was appointed as commissioner resident in Gauteng. Currently, Mgijima is deputy chairperson of the Board of the National Health Laboratory Service, a panel member and a member of the Performance Management for Senior Managers Committee and the AIDS Council respectively for the City of Johannesburg.

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