Dorothy Nomzansi Nyembe - A Titan of Struggle
22 December 1998
A heart of a lioness has ceased to beat. The lioness roars no more. Dorothy Nomzansi Nyembe is no more.
The ANC in KwaZulu Natal announces with great sadness the untimely passing away of the South African stalwart, Comrade Dorothy Nyembe, "Mam D" as she was popularly known in the ranks of the ANC. She passed away on 17th December 1998 as she was preparing to meet with other veterans of struggle on the occasion of the 37th Anniversary of our erstwhile people`s army, Umkhonto we Sizwe. She decided to leave us only a day after observing the celebrations in honour of South African heroes who died with their boots on at Ncome in 1838.
"Mam D" was born on the 31st of December 1931 at Thalane, northern KwaZulu Natal near Dundee. She leaves behind a daughter, six grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Yet she leaves behind millions of South Africans and the Young Lions she mothered during her long service in the struggle. She leaves a deep void which will be difficult to fill.
As an African woman who grew up under apartheid colonialism in a rural environment, she was a victim from his first birthday. Dorothy Nyembe, like all African women, did not simply lament about her conditions. She sought to change the world around her and that of all black South Africans. That naturally led her to the ranks of the ANC in 1952.
1952 was the year of Defiance Campaign against all the discriminatory laws of successive racist regimes. "Mam D" found herself occupying the forward trenches of that campaign. She filed through the ranks until she became the Deputy Chairperson of the ANC Women`s League in Natal. She worked closely with stalwarts like Chief Albert Lutuli, M.B. Yengwa, Moses Mabhida, M.P. Naicker, Nelson Mandela, Lilian Ngoyi, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo.
In 1956 she was one of the leaders of the struggle especially in rural areas and was one of the leading lights of the defiant women`s movement in South Africa. She was notorious` for leading beer hall boycotts which were aimed at destroying the only viable economic activity by Africans in the black ghettos, the brewing of traditional beer.
When the time came to South Africa and there were only two choices - submit or fight - Dorothy Nyembe had no choice but to fight. From the very beginning when the ANC was banned in 1960, she joined its underground structures and when Umkhonto we Sizwe was formed on December 16 1961, she was part of it.
In 1963 she was sentenced to three years for serving a banned organisation, the ANC. When she came out of prison in 1966, she was banned with the most stringent restrictions. Like all serious revolutionaries, she found space to organise for the ANC and Umkhonto we Sizwe under the very nose of fascism. In 1968 the apartheid spy- web finally caught up with her. She was heavily tortured and finally sentenced to a long-term imprisonment of fifteen years which she fully served at the then notorious Kroonstad Prison.
When the apartheid capitalist system encacerated "Mam D" in its fascist dungeons, the Soviet Union awarded her one of its greatest decorations, the USSR People`s Friendship Award. When she emerged from prison she was as strong as she ever was. She had no time to enjoy life in a bigger prison, the apartheid South Africa. She again became a leader of the ANC underground and part of the structures of Umkhonto we Sizwe.
Her wisdom and experience taught many generations of struggle. The path she traversed was long and a thorny one. It was precisely because of this recognition and appreciation that the ANC in Southern Natal awarded Dorothy Nyembe the Chief Albert Lutuli Award in 1992 for her absolute commitment and dedication to the national liberation struggle.
In 1994 after the first democratic elections, she was one of the pioneer Members of the National Assembly and one of the founding mothers and fathers of the South African democratic constitution. Dorothy Nyembe may rest in peace now. She will rest in peace for she died a day after our heroes whose remains lie strewn along the sacred Ncome River were finally recognised and honoured. She will rest in peace for she knows that the struggle continues and must continue for her colleagues - Florence Mkhize, Tryphina "Mamboxela" Njokweni, Gladys Manzi and Alzina Zondi remain at the helm of the struggle.
Dorothy Nyembe was no criminal as those who want to rewrite the history of our struggle and misrepresent it would want us to believe. She was a freedom fighter!
We who are the offsprings of Dorothy "Mam D" Nyembe will continue to drink from her deep well of wisdom and honour her spirit of no surrender. May her spirit propel us forward! Dorothy Nomzansi Nyembe lives!
From the ANC KwaZulu Natal Provincial Executive Committee.
