Sangweni was born in Vryheid, Natal in 1947. He worked for many years for a carpet company in Durban, but left during the workers’ strikes of 1976.
Sangweni no lives in the Empangeni district where he works as a sculptor of figures and animals in wood. He is particularly concerned with the depiction of Zulu cultural history, of myths and folklore.
He has participated in several group exhibitions from 1980 in South Africa. He is represented in the Durban Art Gallery collection.