Former ANC MP Ntombazana Botha has died, the party announced on Sunday.
Botha, who served as deputy minister for provincial and local government as well as arts & culture, passed away on Saturday after a long illness.
ANC Eastern Cape communications head Gift Ngqondi described Botha’s passing as a big loss.
“With comrade Ntombazana Botha’s passing, the ANC Veterans League and the broader Congress movement have lost an organiser, a dedicated servant of our people, a community builder, a gender activist and an ardent advocate for equality in line with our movement’s vision of a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and united nation,” Ngqondi said.
“A stalwart of our revolution is no more. A mother, a grandmother, a leader of the UDF [United Democratic Front] and a mentor to thousands of younger generations is no more. What she has left behind for us is a legacy to cherish and to honour in action.”
In the 1999 general election, she was elected to a full term in the National Assembly, representing the Eastern Cape constituency.
From May 30 2001 to April 28 2004, she served as deputy minister of provincial and local government in the government of then President Thabo Mbeki. She deputised for Sydney Mufamadi.
She vacated that office after the 2004 general election, in which she was re-elected to her legislative seat.
When Mbeki appointed his second-term cabinet after the election, he named her as deputy minister of arts & culture, under then minister Pallo Jordan.
She served in that portfolio until the 2009 general election, in which she did not seek re-election to the National Assembly.
“Even after her retirement from parliament, she continued her political activism within the Congress Movement and served in both the ANC Veterans League PEC in the Eastern Cape and the ANC Provincial List Committee for the 2021 local government elections,” Ngqondi said.
“She inspired a generation of leaders who have since swelled the ranks of the democratic movement and our government.”
Ngqondi said Botha had left huge footprints that tracked SA history of suffering and resilience under immeasurable harassment and dehumanisation under apartheid.
He described the stalwart as “undoubtedly one of the most accomplished, courageous women leaders who championed the struggle against apartheid”.
“She fought tirelessly to break the disempowering gender divide in our society and contributed through her entire life to the noble fight against racial segregation and class exploitation,” Ngqondi said.
“A determined advocate and agitator for the empowerment of women and gender equality, comrade Botha will be best remembered for her unrelenting commitment to the fight against gender-based violence and her resolute belief in the ANC and the ANC Women’s League as reliable tools in the hands of our people to effect fundamental and far-reaching transformation in the struggle for the total liberation and emancipation of women in South Africa.”
Botha represented several structures in various capacities throughout her political career over the years,
Daily Dispatch
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.