Thandi Modise says she and Winnie carried guns on their first day in parliament
Modise has hailed the late struggle veteran as a 'towering figure of our lifetime'.
Thandi Modise. Picture: Twitter/@ANCParliament
The chairperson of the national council of provinces (NCOP) Thandi Modise has revealed that her and late anti-apartheid struggle veteran Winnie Madikizela-Mandela carried guns on their first day in parliament back in the 1990s.
“We were called, and some of us said: ‘Do you have gun safes now we are blustering? Where are the guns’ safes because we have guns?’
“Because there was no rule that said you do not walk into this place without a gun‚” Modise said on Thursday while narrating the story of her and Mam’ Winnie’s first day in parliament in 1994.
She was speaking during a joint sitting of MPs from the NCOP and National Assembly to pay tribute to Madikizela-Mandela and former Cabinet minister Zola Skweyiya, who both passed away last month.
The Madikizela-Mandela and Skweyiya families were also present during the special sitting clad in black to mourn their loved ones.
Modise has hailed Madikizela-Mandela as a “towering figure of our lifetime [and] a pivotal woman of our history”.
“Her dedication to the struggle against apartheid and patriarchy has always been unshakable. She hated poverty, and that is why she never made money,” she said.
Watch the video below:
Mam Thandi Modise narrating the story of her and Mam Winnie's first day in Parliament in 1994. They arrived carrying guns 😂😂😂 #WinnieMandelaTribute pic.twitter.com/eWREWKrj1f
— VoteANC2024 (@NoncebaMhlauli) May 3, 2018
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