Ongama Mtimka lecturers Democratisation and State Transformation, South African Politics, and International Political Economy at Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He comments regularly on South African politics as a political analyst on national and international media. His key research interests are in party politics, political economy, and development. Mtimka holds a Bachelor of Arts (journalism) from Rhodes University and Masters in South African Politics and Political Economy from Nelson Mandela University where he is also completing his PhD. He has worked in organisations involved in investment promotion, infrastructure development, local government, and community development.
He has presented at international conferences in Brazil and two times at the United States of America. Ongama has delivered speeches on the political outlook of South Africa for senior executives in listed companies and industry associations as well as in national disciplinary conferences. He is the Treasurer of the South African Association of Political Studies and its past Emerging Academics Research Committee Chair .