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President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Arica has mourned the death of seasoned campaigner and esteemed member of the Order of the Baobab, Mam Sally Motlana.
Motlana passed away on Saturday, June 24, 2023, at the age of 96.
The Motlana and Maunye families, as well as the friends and comrades of the late community leader, are mourning the loss, and President Ramaphosa extends his sincere sympathies to them.
The activist who was born at Pilgrim’s Rest in the former Eastern Transvaal, grew up in Sophiatown, Johannesburg.
She attended Fort Hare University and worked as a teacher until 1954, when she resigned from her position in support of the Defiance Campaign’s rejection of the recently implemented Bantu Education. In 1951, she was also elected Secretary of the African National Congress Youth League.
She played a crucial role in the South African Council of Churches taking a public stance against apartheid and later went on to lead the Black Housewives League for 20 years as president.
In communities around Limpopo and Soweto, the League executed a variety of development initiatives in education and food security under Mam Motlana’s direction.
President Ramaphosa said: “We are mourning the loss of a stalwart whose extended lifetime is a canvas of the history of our struggle.”
“Mam Sally Motlana was a fearless and resolute opponent of oppression and a deeply spiritual and empathetic builder and organiser of communities who suffered under apartheid.”
“Mam Sally endured arrests and harassment from a system that reserved the greatest disadvantage and dehumanisation for black women but remained steadfast in her belief that apartheid would be overcome.”
