African National Congress:
ANC MOURNS THE PASSING ON OF MAMA ALBERTINAH SISULU
The ANC is overcome with a deep sense of sadness on the sudden passing on of the ANC stalwart Mama Albertinah Sisulu.
MaSisulu passed on yesterday night, 2nd June 2011, at the age of 92 after a fulfilling life as a people's servant coupled with her unwavering commitment and leadership to the liberation of our people. MaSisulu epitomized the struggles of the poor, the women and the disenfranchised.
While the family has lost a mother, a grand-mother and a great grand-mother, the ANC and the country have lost an irreplaceable leader, a role model and a constant reminder of dedication and selflessness. She embodied grace and humility.
MaSisulu who is a founder member of the UDF (United Democratic Movement) and Fedsaw (Federation of South African Women), led the struggle on many fronts. in the height of repression characterized by bannings, arrests and killings she emerged steadfastly and filled the void that was left by the forceful exiling and imprisonment of leaders like Mandela, Tambo and others.
In her leadership role she gave guidance to young activists and leaders of progressive organizations including Cosas, Sayco, Azaso, civic formations and many women's organization throughout the country. She did not only give political guidance but she was also a mother figure to all activists. It was a combination of these two qualities, political and parental roles that made it possible for her as a leader of the UDF to sustain a concerted rejection of the tri-cameral apartheid parliamentary system by all South Africans.
She inspired a generation of leaders who have since swelled the ranks of the democratic movement and our government. To us she has left huge footprints that tracks our history of suffering, and resilience under immeasurable harassment and dehumanization under apartheid.
As South Africans we owe it to this pedigree of revolutionaries who defined the course and tempo of our struggle. Indeed we can without equivocation say that as South Africans, we today enjoy the freedom and democracy because of her selfless contribution.
Details for her funeral arrangements will be communicated once the family has decided and finalized the matter. We would like to convey our condolences to the family and the entire congress movement.
May her Soul rest in peace.
Statement issued by Jackson Mthembu, ANC National Spokesperson
ANC Women's League:
ANCWL EXTREMELY SADDENED BY THE DEATH OF MAMA NONTSIKELELO ALBERTINA SISULU
The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is extremely shocked and saddened by the death of one of its founding leaders and selfless stalwart, Mama Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu on Thursday, 2 June 2011, at the age of 92.
We are extremely saddened by the death of Mama Sisulu - as she was affectionately known in the ANC and the ANCWL - who was a true servant of the people of South Africa and a dedicated champion for gender equality and the advancement of women.
Her selflessness and unwavering commitment to the women's struggle is discernable in the various positions she held, with distinction, in both the ANC and the ANCWL.
Mama Sisulu was 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.
She was one of the key people who served on a committee that re-established the ANCWL, after the unbanning of the ANC in 1990. Mamam Sisulu was elected to the ANC's National Executive Committee (NEC) in 1991.
We are deeply saddened that we have lost not only one of our former leaders but also a mentor of many leaders and members of the ANCWL, including the current leadership. For us her illustrious political involvement in the struggle against apartheid was a valuable lesson that will continue to teach us about the sacrifices made by women of her calibre in the fight for gender equality and women's emancipation.
We wish to extend our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the Sisulu family and the people of South Africa for the loss of a caring mother, grandmother and an epitome of moral values, human dignity, respect and revolutionary discipline.
In this difficult time, we must all find comfort in knowing that her sacrifice and kind deeds have contributed immensely in the creation of a better life for all our people.
May her soul rest in peace! Hamba kahle Xhamela!
The President of the ANCWL, Angie Motshekga will lead a delegation of senior leaders and officials of the ANCWL to convey their condolences and respect to the Sisulu family this evening, 3 June 2011.
Issued by Nosipho Dorothy Ntwanambi, Deputy President of the ANCWL.
ANC Youth League:
FAREWELL MAMA SISULU
The African National Congress Youth League farewell to Mama Albertina Sisulu, whose life and contribution to the struggle for political, social and economic emancipation of the black majority and Africans in particular should always and forever be celebrated. Mama Albertina Sisulu is a pioneer of women's involvement and participation in the struggles of the Congress Movement, and did so excellently in the ANC Youth League, Women's League and the ANC.
Mama Sisulu was the only female delegate at the official launch of the ANC Youth League on the 10th of September 1944, and therefore partook in deliberations that shaped South Africa's militant, radical and revolutionary youth wing of the ANC. The ANC Youth League has already picked up the spear of a fallen Heroine and will continue with the fight for total political, social and economic emancipation through transfer of wealth from the minority to the majority. On the gender equity front, the ANC Youth League can now proudly say that all our structures are constituted by a minimum of 50% females, and they draw inspiration from Mama Albertina Sisulu.
In bidding farewell to Mama Sisulu, the nation should be aware and proud that that she did not only nurture a caring ANC, but politically nurtured a family of ANC activists whose commitment to the struggle of total emancipation can never be doubted. Mama Sisulu did not lock her children home even under the difficult political conditions of a racist, blood-thirsty, murderous and oppressive apartheid system. She instead said to the family that they should go out there to continue with and intensify the fight against the system, fully aware that the returns of the struggle could be death, prison and isolation from family. This feature of Mama Sisulu should be celebrated, because it is a feature that should inspire all ANC leaders.
The ANC Youth League is proud of the contribution of Mama Albertina Sisulu to the struggle for total political, social and economic emancipation of the black majority and Africans in particular. As a commemoration of her life, we will continue with and intensify the struggles for realisation of all Freedom Charter objectives.
IFP leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi:
MESSAGE OF CONDOLENCE ON THE PASSING OF MRS NONTSIKELELO ALBERTINA SISULU: STATEMENT BY PRINCE MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI MP PRESIDENT OF THE INKATHA FREEDOM PARTY, Durban: June 3 2011
The news of Albertina Sisulu's passing last night left me with a sense of enormous loss. I and my wife, Princess Irene, considered her a friend. But of course, she was much more; she was one of the mothers of our democratic nation, birthing freedom through her unbending faith and convictions.
She and her husband, Walter, were an inspiration to me from a young age, not only in their politics but in their marriage. They were like Juno's swans. They gave us a love story that underpinned everything they accomplished.
I shall forever be grateful to Mr Walter Sisulu for the guidance he gave me as a young man when he advised me, together with Inkosi Albert Luthuli and Mr Nelson Mandela, to take up my hereditary position as Inkosi of the Buthelezi Clan. That was more than half a century ago, but it began a lifetime of leadership for me. Throughout the years that followed, I often leant on the wisdom of men like Walter Sisulu.
Thus Albertina became someone I respected and admired, for she so ably complimented her husband's strengths and supported him through the many dark nights of incarceration, suffering and exile. In the midst of their fight for our freedom, Albertina managed to raise children of whom she and Walter could later be very proud.
I am so pleased that she lived to see our freedom and to serve in a democratic Parliament. I am also grateful that, in the last seventeen years of her life, South Africa could honour her and her husband for the more than seventy years they gave to the liberation struggle. She deserved every accolade we gave her.
But the praises we bestowed on her in life, and those we will pour upon her memory now, pale in significance to the crown she received as she stepped into eternity. I thank God that she was a woman of faith and lived, as believers do, in the hope of the resurrection.
May the Lord comfort her children and grandchildren, and may our nation rise in a unified message of thanks for the life of Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu.
COSATU:
Hamba Kahle, Albertina Sisulu
The Congress of South African Trade Unions mourns the sad passing of one of our greatest national heroines, Albertina Sisulu. We send our condolences to her family and friends and all her thousands of comrades in the movement. We have lost one of the greatest and most loved figures in our national liberation struggle.
Mama Sisulu devoted her entire life to caring for others, as a nurse and midwife struggling to improve the lives of individuals in a racist environment, as a wife, mother and grandmother to a family which has produced an unprecedented number of great political leaders, and in the broad struggle for national, gender and class liberation of all South Africans.
In particular she played a pivotal role in the mobilisation of women into the liberation struggle, in the ANC Women's League, which she joined in 1948, and in the founding of the Federation of South African Women in 1954. She was one of the leaders at the Congress of the People in 1955 and in the women's march to the Union Buildings in 1956 to protest against pass laws for women.
"Women," she said in 1987 in Soweto, "are the people who are going to relieve us from all this oppression and depression. The rent boycott that is happening in Soweto now is alive because of the women. It is the women who are on the street committees, educating the people to stand up and protect each other."
She served in many, many positions, including Deputy President of the Women's League and she led the United Democratic Front delegation that went overseas on an anti-apartheid mission in the late 1980s. She was also one of the founding trustees of the Labour Job Creation Trust, set up by the three trade union federations after the Presidential Jobs Summit in 1998.
She played a major role in the development, transformation and unification of the nursing profession and the health sector in general, and in the founding of the COSATU-affiliated union, the Democratic Nurses Union of South Africa (DENOSA). For this she was given a trophy at the historic International Nurses Congress held in Durban in 2009, in recognition of an outstanding contribution to nursing.
Mama Sisulu's passing marks the departure of a generation of exceptional leaders, who represented all the best values of the ANC and the revolutionary movement, leaders who never put their own interests before those of the people. There has been no finer role model for succeeding generations.
She knew that joining the struggle was inviting arrest, torture and death for her and her family. Yet for the 25 years when her husband Walter was on Robben Island, she never flinched, never displayed any sign of weakness.
She was known as the ‘Mother of the Nation' for good reason. She was the best possible example of what motherhood and caring for a family should mean. A recent report revealed that nine million South African children are living without their fathers, who are still living but taking no responsibility for their offspring. The old tradition under which fathers were obliged to pay compensation to the mothers of their children has virtually disappeared.
Those absent fathers should read the story of the Sisulu family's love and care for each other and follow their fine example. They should ponder the words of Che Guevara, that "the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality... We must strive every day so that this love of living humanity will be transformed into actual deeds, into acts that serve as examples, as a moving force."
Mama Sisulu was humble, self-effacing and loyal, yet also firm. For her right was right and wrong was wrong. We hope that these values will not die with her, as today we face a new, entirely opposite, culture of individualism and greed. Debates are no longer about issues of principle but angling for position and business opportunities.
Today's leaders have a lot to learn from the inspirational example of Mama Sisulu and her generation of leaders. She will be greatly missed but certainly never forgotten. COSATU dips its banners to honour and respect a true icon on the struggle for freedom.
Statement issued by Patrick Craven, COSATU national spokesperson
DENOSA:
DENOSA mourns passing away of Mama Albertina Sisulu
The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa joins millions of people across the globe in mourning the passing away of Nurse Midwife pioneer and struggle stalwart Mama Albertina Sisulu.
We deeply appreciate her relentless struggle to liberate people of this country in particular Women through helping form the Federation of South African Women in 1954, playing a pivotal role in the launch of the Freedom Charter a year later, being the Deputy President of the ANC Women's League and leading the United Democratic Front delegation that went abroad on an anti-apartheid mission in the late 80's.
Ma Sisulu was part of the historical march to the Union Buildings in 1955 which amongst other things was opposing Bantu Education, pass laws and the running of schools at home.
Of note Ma Sisulu has played a massive role in the unification and transformation of nursing in the country. She was instrumental in the formation of our organisation DENOSA, whose mission includes unifying and organising nurses under one umbrella. She steered the ship in the right direction in a consultative conference in 1992 that led to formation of DENOSA.
In the historical International Council of Nurses congress held in Durban in 2009 Ma Sisulu was amongst five nurses who were recognized by DENOSA for their contribution in the nursing profession globally.
Ma Sisulu, who practiced as a nurse midwife for more than 40 years, remains a benchmark of what nursing, leadership and motherhood should be. We are grateful for her humility, dedication, caring, these being some of the qualities that have embodied her life.
"The entire leadership of DENOSA and the nursing fraternity sends its heartfelt condolences to the Sisulu family, the ANC and friends. We are with them during these trying times." says DENOSA President Dorothy Matebeni
Lala ngoxolo Mama Sisulu, ugqatso ulufezile!
FW de Klerk:
STATEMENT BY FORMER PRESIDENT FW DE KLERK
I have learned with sadness of the sudden passing of Mrs Albertina Sisulu.
She was an important and much loved leader of the ANC and was one of the mothers of our new non-racial democracy.
I should like to extend my sincere condolences to all the members of her family, her friends and to the African National Congress.
Issued by the FW de Klerk Foundation
UDM President Bantu Holomisa:
MESSAGE OF CONDOLENCE TO THE SISULU FAMILY
On behalf of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) and the Holomisa family, I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family, the African National Congress and friends of the late Mrs Albertina Sisulu. Our hearts go out to you in your time of sorrow.
Mama Sisulu was a shining light in the struggle for liberation. She was one of the founding members of the United Democratic Front, which fearlessly fought for the unbanning of political parties and the release of political prisoners.
We are eternally indebted to her for her monumental contribution to the freedom and democracy we now enjoy. As she has gone to join her twin brother, the late Walter Sisulu, we must hold tight to the teachings and memories of her unselfish concern for the welfare of others. Through mama Sisulu, the Nation had the privilege of witnessing hard work, discipline and leadership par excellence.
Statement Issued b Bantu Holomisa, UDM President
NUMSA General Secretary, Irvin Jim:
HAMBA KAHLE MAMA ALBERTINA SISULU
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has learnt with shock on the untimely departure of Mama Albertina Nontsikelelo Sisulu.
Mama Sisulu died soon after an uphill battle and campaign for her organisation, the African National Congress (ANC), during the feisty contested local government elections. Wherever she is in the nooks and crannies of the universe, she would be glad that her organisation was retained to power by the overwhelming majority of our people, particularly by the workers and the poor.
But she would bemoan in her silent sleep on the unprecedented high numbers of voters that abstained, particularly from the core constituency areas of the ANC-led Alliance. As she joins the immortal living in the land of the departed she would have decried the opulence displayed by some of our leaders on the face of the poor communities of Makhaza, Diepsloot, Machibisa and Nkowankowa who are still patiently waiting for basic services.
She would be at pains on the sexist, demagogic and demeaning language couched in revolutionary language as used by some of the youth leaders during the electioneering campaign.
As we bid Mama Sisulu farewell we should renew the revolutionary values and traditions of the ANC-led Alliance as espoused by her generation. A generation that did not regard its fellow comrades such Joe Slovo, Yusuf Dadoo, Alex la Guma, Bram Fischer, Esther Bersel, Ruth First as minorities, but as equal comrades and beings of an ideal and future South Africa as envisaged in the Freedom Charter that ‘South Africa belongs to all that live on it'.
A generation that knew that a non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa will be made possible if we alter and change the colonial character of our economy as guided by the Freedom Charter.
Mama Sisulu's death should serve as a call to the ANC-led Alliance to use its parliamentary power and majority to abolish private property and restore the wealth of our country beneath the soil to the hands of the people as a whole informed by the Freedom Charter. As long as the wealth of our country is concentrated in the hands of the few whites males, we will be plunging ourselves into a deeper crisis which might trigger another ‘1976 June 16'.
This is the befitting tribute our movement can honour Mama Sisulu for her dedication, sacrifices and commitments to the struggle of the oppressed.
We send our sincere and profound condolences to her family, friends and her organisations, the ANC and the ANCYL.
ACDP President Kenneth Meshoe:
ACDP expresses condolences to the Sisulu family
ACDP President Rev. Kenneth Meshoe MP said today:
"The ACDP has learnt with sadness the sudden death of Mama Albertina Sisulu. We wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the Sisulu family, her friends and the ANC.
Mama Sisulu was a great woman, an excellent example as a mother and leader, who was very kind to all people she came across. She had a warm smile that made even strangers feel at home. In spite of the harassment at the hands of security police she remained kind, forgiving and loving. She showed all victims of apartheid how to remain calm, composed and dignified at all times.
The ACDP will cherish the memory of this political stalwart for a very long time and I will personally remember her as a mother who always called me as "my son". Our prayers are with the Sisulu family during this time of their bereavement."
NEHAWU:
NEHAWU MOURNS THE DEATH OF MAMA ALBERTINA SISULU
NEHAWU is extremely saddened to hear of the passing away of former ANC veteran and struggle stalwart Mama Albertina Sisulu who passed away yesterday at her home in Johannesburg.We send our deepest and heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and comrades and we call on all South Africans, workers and especially young people to honour this devoted community worker by continuing with her work and adopting a culture of service.
Mama Albertina Sisulu was a fearless champion of the poor and dedicated her life to fighting for justice and spent her later years as a dedicated community worker who personified grace dignity and integrity. We owe it to heroines like Mama Albertina to continue to fight for the full emancipation of women from the shackles of patriarchy, capitalism and poverty.
South Africa might have lost Mama Albertina but she has left us with a wonderful legacy of dedication and perseverance that even the evil apartheid machinery could not break. It is saddening to see icons like Mama Sisulu leaving us at a time when this country needs their guidance and advice in the battle for moral regeneration.
The union commits to honour Mama Albertina Susulu by working hard in instilling a culture of service and fighting for better service delivery. We will participate in the struggles to improve the lives of our women workers in the factories, farms and domestic workers who wake up every day to persevere and struggle to put food on the table.
Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo:
Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo pays tribute to stalwart and leader Ma Albertina Sisulu and the Sisulu Family
Affectionately known as a Mother of Africa, Albertina Sisulu is no more and she passed on at her family home in Linden, Johannesburg, yesterday at the age 92.
Her claim to fame is not that she was married to African National Congress stalwart Walter Sisulu and the mother of five outstanding political activists, Max, Mlungisi, Zwelakhe, Lindiwe and Nonkululeko, who have played a pivotal role in the democratization of our country.
That is merely a footnote to the life of a woman who dedicated herself to the struggle against apartheid.
As years went by, she was endeared with the name of Ma Sisulu. At the time of her death, Ma Sisulu had 26 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Her husband, veteran anti-apartheid activist, Walter Sisulu, died in 2003.
Born in 1918, Albertina Sisulu had to look after her brothers and sisters from a young age after her mother passed away. She originally planned to become a nun, but became a nurse so that she could earn money to support her family. In 1944, at the age of 26, she married Walter Sisulu, who encouraged her to become more politically active.
She joined the ANC Women's League in the 1940s just before she met and married Walter Sisulu in 1944.
In the 50s she took part in the historic march of 20,000 women who marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest the extension of the pass book to women. By 1964, her husband had been jailed for life but she continued the fight on her own.
Ma Sisulu raised the couple's five children alone. She spent months in jail herself and had her movements restricted by the apartheid government.
Ma Sisulu, trained as a nurse, campaigned against apartheid and for the rights of women and children. She was a leader of the United Democratic Front, a key anti-apartheid coalition in the 1980s that brought together religious, labour and community development groups. She also was a leader in the ANC and the ANC's women's wing.
She was the first woman to be held under the brutal 90-day detention order. And, her name is always included in a list of remarkable women: Helen Joseph, Lilian Ngoyi, Sophie de Bruyn, Dorothy Nyembe, Charlotte Maxeke, Ruth First, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Epainette Mbeki and Amina Cachalia. Many, like MaSisulu, marched on the Union Buildings in 1956 to protest pass laws and oppression.
Ma Sisulu remains a benchmark of what nursing, leadership and motherhood should be. She was a revolutionary in her own right. We are very grateful to be enjoying the freedom that she has sacrificed for. We will remember Ma Sisulu for her selflessness and dedication and remember the support she gave to all South Africans.
As the saying goes, behind every successful man, there is a very good woman. We would not have got the leadership from Walter Sisulu had it not been for the pillar of strength that stood beside him in the form of Ma Sisulu.
The Sisulu family spent most of their lives as ambassadors and leaders of the African National Congress, but in the process endured decades of banishment, detention, humiliation and exile. Ma Sisulu's sacrifice together with others was the accomplishment of many thousands of selfless and unsung cadres who succeeded in rebuilding our country and the democratic structures we have today.
Ma Sisulu also served in parliament, taking a seat after the first democratic elections in 1994 and served four years. She spent the last few years of her life still deeply involved in several charities.
Today, daughter Lindiwe Sisulu is defense minister. Son Max Sisulu is the Speaker of the National Assembly. Daughter Beryl Sisulu is South Africa's ambassador to Norway.
I am sure that all South Africans will miss her dearly and we know her family will miss her even more and we extend our sincerest condolences to them. May the peace which comes from the memories of love shared, comfort the Sisulu family in the days ahead, and the comfort of God help the family during this difficult time.
Issued by Office of the Chief Justice, on behalf of Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo
NUM:
NUM mourns the passing of Albertina Sisulu
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) learnt with sadness the passing of struggle stalwart Albertina Sisulu. MaSisulu as she was affectionately known, played a significant role in the liberation struggle as well as in the emancipation of the previously disenfranchised and marginalized majority. The National Union of Mineworkers dips its flag in honour of the struggle veteran MaSisulu and appreciates the role she played and the selflessness she displayed in our society. She will be sadly missed.
The NUM sends its condolences to the Sisulu family, the ANC and the entire South African nation. And may the many citizens of our wonderful country walk in her footsteps and selflessly contribute towards progress in our society.
SACP:
SACP STATEMENT ON THE PASSING AWAY OF MAMA ALBERTINA SISULU
Last night on the 2nd June 2011, the SACP received with sadness the news of the passing away of the second recipient, after Nelson Mandela, of the SACP highest honour the Chris Hani Peace Award, uMama Albertina Sisulu, a great revolutionary and patriot of our people. Our deepest condolences to the family, relatives, comrades and friends.
A stalwart of our revolution is no more. A mother, a grandmother, a leader of the UDF and FEDSAW and a mentor to thousand of younger generations is no more. What she has left behind for us is a legacy to cherish and to honour in action.
Mama Sisulu was an overall activist and understood the relationship between racial oppression, class oppression and gender oppression, especially the most unrealised aspects of the gender struggle. In her much appreciated role as a midwife she brought life into this world and in practice demonstrated the values of which she fought, that of selflessness and a caring nation. Even after retiring from active nursing she carried out these duties as part and parcel of her commitment to serving her people.
Mama played an important role in providing support to one of the most revered leader of our movement when he was a subject of police harassment and endless unfair detention. In her own right she was an activist and an important leader of women struggles.
We dip our red banner in hour of this heroine of our revolution. We extend condolences to family and friends, to comrades in the ANC and the ANC WL and the entire liberation movement. In her honour we must revamp our health system to be people centred as opposed to the profit driven health care system. In her honour we must produce thousands of healthcare workers whose main dedication is to serve our people. In her honour we must continue the struggle to improve the conditions of women and girls in society.
SADTU:
Tribute to Mama Albertina Sisulu: The matriarch has fallen, long live the spirit of Mama Albertina Sisulu!
The news of the passing on of Mama Albertina Sisulu has been met with shock and sadness.
Fondly addressed as MaSisulu, she was indeed a mother not only to her family but to the movement for the struggle for liberation in South Africa.
A never tiring activist, Mama Sisulu unselfishly dedicated her life to the struggle for liberation and continued to lead when organizations were banned, leaders jailed and many forced into exile including her children.
She kept the family fires burning while her husband Walter Sisulu spent 25 years in Robben Island. She also suffered arrests and years of banning. Some of her children were also arrested and banned.
Through it all, she never carried any sense of bitterness but kept her eyes firmly on the goal of liberating South Africa.
MaSisulu had a keen interest in education and women. She was opposed to the introduction of Bantu Education and played an active role, as a member of the ANC Women's League and the Federation for South African Women (FEDSAW), in boycotts against Bantu Education. She turned her home into a school to provide alternative education. Unfortunately, the apartheid government passed a law to make it illegal to run alternative schools.
She was actively involved in protests against the carrying of passes by women in the 1950s.
In the '80s, she led the United Democratic Front (UDF) as one of its co-presidents in the face of the state of emergency and the rising brutality by the state. She was banned and detained but she never stopped calling for the liberation of South Africa. The democratic South Africa owes its being to selfless and dedicated matriarchs like Mama Albertina Sisulu. Let us preserve her legacy by ensuring that South Africa remains a non-racial, non-sexist society where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive and prosper.
Lala ngoxolo MaSisulu!
SAMA:
SAMA Mourns the Death of an Icon
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) is saddened by the death of one of the struggling stalwarts, Ms. Albertina Sisulu.
South Africa, a nation that has come from a history filled with huge loss and challenges, has come thus far because of the efforts and contributions of people such as Mrs. Sisulu and all others who fought for the freedom of this country.
The unification of the profession occurred as a result of the efforts of people such as Mrs. Sisulu. She was a health professional, a nurse who demonstrated that even as health professionals we had a duty towards the freedom of the people.
Mrs. Sisulu worked for Dr Abu Asvat, who was murdered in Soweto during the Apartheid days.
Says Dr. Norman Mabasa, SAMA Chairman: "I personally interacted with Mrs. Sisulu in the 80s, where I was privileged to attend a workshop with her. She was warm, welcoming and humble".
She is an icon from our years of the liberation struggle and will forever be respected and remembered. May her soul rest in peace.
SATAWU:
SATAWU MOURNS THE PASSING AWAY OF MAMA ALBERTINA SISULU: Hamba Kahle
The South African Transport & Allied Workers' Union (Satawu) has learnt with grief, the passing away of our leader and struggle icon Mama Albertina Sisulu on Thursday, June 02 2011. On this sad day, we send our deep felt condolences to comrade Sisulu's family. She was a phenomenal being and remarkable woman in unendurable times. A true stalwart. A human rights activist. A loyal & dedicated member of our movement. She fought hard for the emancipation of all women
Through your struggle we could see the true South Africa which you fought for so gallantly. Mama Albertina Sisulu was the mother to our people, bringer of freedom. Our hearts pour out to the entire Sisulu family during this trying times. Mama Albertina has played an important role in building South Africa to what it is today. A woman of strength, she was our mother during difficult and trying times. A true political leader, principled and unshakable human being.
Your wise words will be our daily lessons, a real legend of our times.
We salute you Mama. May your soul rest in peace.
DA leader Helen Zille:
DA mourns death of Albertina Sisulu
On behalf of the Democratic Alliance, I convey sincere condolences to the Sisulu family as well as the friends and loved ones of the late Mrs Albertina Sisulu.
During her long life, Mrs Sisulu came to symbolise all that is strong and good about our country. She showed extraordinary fortitude, courage and perseverance in the most difficult times. She raised her family as a single parent while her husband was in prison. She was unwavering in her commit to justice for all and the values that she lived are now embedded in our constitution.
The best tribute that we can pay to her sacrifices is to sustain and defend the Democracy that she and so many others worked so hard to attain.
South African President Jacob Zuma:
President Jacob Zuma pays special tribute to the late Mama Albertina Sisulu
President Jacob Zuma has paid a special tribute to Mama Albertina Sisulu, who passed on last night at her house in Johannesburg at the age of 92. A matriarch and a nurse by profession, Mama Sisulu was one of the foremost mothers of the nation and the last of the colossuses of the struggle for the liberation of South Africa.
"Mama Sisulu has over the decades been a pillar of strength not only for the Sisulu family but also the entire liberation Movement as she reared, counselled, nursed and educated most of the leaders and founders of the democratic South Africa" said President Zuma.
"While we mourn her loss, we must thank her most profoundly for the selfless service to all South Africans and humanity at large, for her generosity of spirit and for teaching the nation humility, respect for human dignity and compassion for the weak, the poor and the downtrodden" said the President.
A former president of the massive United Democratic Front and together with her late husband, Walter Sisulu, Mama Sisulu dedicated her entire adult life to the struggle for liberation in South Africa, in the process enduring decades of banishment, detention, humiliation and ultimately exile, where the Sisulu's spent most of their lives as ambassadors and leaders of the African National Congress.
South Africa remains eternally grateful and indebted to this stalwart of the liberation and an assuming leader of all races of our people. "On behalf of Government and the people of South Africa, we would like to convey our deepest condolences to the Sisulu family and thank them profusely for dedicating their daughter, mother and grandmother to the service of humanity," President Zuma said.
June 3 2011
Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter
