Messages of condolences continue to pour in following the passing of anti-apartheid struggle veteran, Rita Ndzanga.
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Mama Ndzanga passed away last week at the age of 89 and her passing comes a week after she visited the gravesite of her comrades, Lilian Ngoyi and Helen Joseph as part of Women’s day commemorations at Avalon Cemetery.
Speaking at the commemoration, Mama Ndzanga urged the current generation of young and old women to come together and continue to fight for their rights.
She also paid tribute to the likes of Ngoyi and all the women of 1956 for their bravery and fighting against the apartheid unjust laws.
Ndzanga was not only an ant apartheid activist but she was also a trade unionist who played a pivotal role in mobilising organised labour in the fight against the apartheid system in the 1950s.
Because of her activism and politics, she had to face jail and torture at the hands of the apartheid police.
In 1969 she and her husband were arrested under the Terrorism Act and she spent six months in solitary confinement.
A recipient of the Order of Luthuli, Mama Ndzanga has been described a fierce unionist who put her life on the line for the emancipation of her people.
“Our nation and especially our progressive movements and organised labour, will remember and continue to honour Mama Rita Ndzanga for dedicating the many decades of her life to advancing the fundamental rights of all South Africans,” said President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“As a young woman who witnessed the birth of apartheid and its ravages over time, Rita Ndzanga took a stand that endangered her own freedom and security so that all of us could be free and secure today.”
The presidents added that Mama Ndzanga’s work in the trade unions and in parliament should be a legacy that should be respected and remembered all the time.
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The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation also sent condolences to Mama Ndzanga’s family saying she was an outstanding comrade and a great revolutionary.
“We will always remember and admire Ma Rita Ndzanga who until the end embodied the best values and traditions of the liberation struggle and personified the ideal of service without the expectation of reward,” said the foundation in a statement.
After the 1994 democratic elections, Ndzanga was elected as one of the Members of Parliament. She served under various Parliamentary Committees until she retired in 2004.
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