Rita Ndzanga, a veteran of many wars, passed away at the age of 89. She served as a member of parliament in 1999 and was a leader of the 1956 Women’s March.
Rita Ndzanga death
She died in Johannesburg on Wednesday night at the age of 89.
Rita Ndzanga Cause of death
The cause of death is not yet specific
Rita Ndzanga, an 89-year-old war veteran, passed away.
Who was Rita Ndzanga?
Rita Alice Ndzanga attended the Bantu High School in Johannesburg after being born in Ventersdorp, North West (then in the Transvaal), in 1933.
Ndzanga joined the South African Railways and Harbour Union as a young woman and rose to the position of the organizer. She participated in the founding of the South African Congress of Trade Unions in the 1950s. Ndzanga was banned from her union and political activism in 1964, and she was also forbidden from going to any political event for a period of five years.
Ndzanga was imprisoned for 18 months in 1969 under the Terrorism Act before being banned and confined to Senaoane for an additional five years.
Ndzanga was arrested and accused of enlisting young students for military training in October 1976. When Lawrence Ndzanga died in custody in January 1977, she was dealt a severe blow.
The social activist Rita Ndzanga
In 1980, Ndzanga returned to the labor movement as an organizer for the General and Allied Worker’s Union, a group that would later play a key role in the establishment of the Congress of South African Trade Unions in 1985.
Ndzanga was elected as the Chairperson and Treasurer of the Senaoane branch of the ANC Women’s League, which is now known as the Lawrence Ndzanga branch, following the lifting of the ANC’s ban.
Ndzanga was honored with the order of Luthuli by President Thabo Mbeki in 2004 while serving South Africa as a lawmaker in the National Assembly for three consecutive terms.
Ndzanga stands out as an example of how the human spirit can triumph over forces of suffering, cruelty, and oppression because of her unwavering commitment to the causes of justice and liberation and her unyielding struggle in the face of State persecution and harassment.
She participated in each of the first three democratic legislatures.
Ndzanga stands out as an example of how the human spirit can triumph over forces of suffering, cruelty, and oppression because of her unwavering commitment to the causes of justice and liberation and her unyielding struggle in the face of unrelenting State persecution and harassment. Her unwavering spirit is a reflection of the primal, most human desire for freedom. She embodies what we hold most dear. She truly serves as an example for all South Africans.
Tributes to Rita Ndzanga
Her unwavering spirit, according to ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe, was a reflection of the deepest and most fundamental human desire to be free. “She continues to be an inspiration to all South Africans and an embodiment of our highest ideals. We pay tribute to Ndzanga by lowering our revolutionary banners and sending our deepest sympathies to her loved ones as well as her fellow revolutionaries. She will always be remembered for her efforts on behalf of our people as long as Ndzanga’s spirit endures. Hey there, Kahle Mbokodo! said Mabe.
Ndzanga and Sophie de Bruyn visited the graves of fallen women Lilian Ngoyi and Helen Joseph in Soweto as well as Rahima Moosa and Albert Ina Sisulu in Bosmont Cemetery a few days prior to International Women’s Day.
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“We offer the family, friends, and comrades of anti-apartheid veteran Ndzanga our sincere condolences. She attended and spoke at a Kathrada Foundation event on August 7,” the Kathrada Foundation stated on their Twitter page.
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