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President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa is poorer as a result of the passing away of struggle heroine, Ma Agnes Msimang.
Ma Aggie, as she was fondly known, died on Thursday at a Johannesburg hospital. She was 89.
The president has described Ma Aggie as “a true servant of the people”.
He said she was a committed and loyal member of the ANC and was a surrogate mother to many activists both inside the country and in exile during apartheid.
“Mama Msimang was a committed gender activist and former deputy president of the ANC Women’s League and was among countless women who mobilised their communities across South Africa against the apartheid system,” he said.
Following the demise of apartheid she joined the then department of foreign affairs and served as deputy chief representative to India.
During her term she started the Africa Club, which helped South African youth learn their culture. She also trained Indian school children about South Africa’s struggle for liberation, including the singing of the national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel ’ iAfrika.
In 2014 she received the National Order of Luthuli in Silver for her contribution to the fight against the unjust laws of apartheid, and for her selfless service to the cause of South Africa’s liberation. She was also the recipient of the International Relations and Cooperation Department’s highest accolade, the OR Tambo Lifetime Achievement Ubuntu Award.
In 2016, when Msimang received the Ubuntu Award for her contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle, then president Jacob Zuma said: “Today we honour those who hold our beautiful flag high, and who contribute to not only telling, but demonstrating the good story of the Republic of South Africa.”
Ramaphosa said that Ma Aggie would be remembered for the multiple roles she assumed in her community and within the organisation to which she remained loyal throughout her life.
“She loved young people and was always concerned for their welfare. She was instrumental in nurturing the Masupatsela, the ANC Youth Brigade,” Ramaphosa said.
“Mama Agnes Msimang never wavered in her dedication to the struggle and to nurturing new generations of activists and fighters who helped our nation to secure its freedom.”
May the soul of Nkhono #AgnesMsimang rest peacefully. May all those she leaves behind be comforted. pic.twitter.com/9emQygHoJh
— Kananelo Sexwale (@kaysexwale) October 19, 2018
The Order of Luthuli in Silver was awarded to Agnes Msimang for:
Her excellent contribution to the fight against the unjust laws of apartheid, she served selflessly and loyally to ensure freedom for all South Africans.
Profile of Agnes Msimang
Agnes Msimang is a veteran of the struggle who sees herself as a servant of the people. She stands for cherished African National Congress (ANC) values. Her children were raised on ANC policies and politics. Four of her children underwent military training as Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) cadres, served in ANC structures and two of them serve in the country’s democratic government.
Msimang went into exile with an infant and two children under the age of 10 with the help of Walter Sisulu and Duma Nokwe. Like many other exiles, she struggled in the wilderness across Botswana and eventually ended up in Tanzania, where she took up a temporary teaching post for seven months.
As a deputy chief representative in India, she started the Africa Club, which helped the South African youth learn their culture. She also trained Indian school children about the struggle for liberation, including the singing of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. She introduced the celebration of June 16 among the African and Indian youth.
Msimang negotiated with the leadership of then President Desai of India for the Mandela Award, which was received by OR Tambo. She also accompanied the chief representative, Thomas Nkobi to Cuba to receive the Mandela Award.
Msimang was elected to the ANC Women’s League executive. With this new role, she was recalled from India to Lusaka where she served as the Women’s League deputy president. In her many deployments and other roles, she has always taken extra responsibility for children and Masupatsela, the ANC Youth Brigade. Msimang helped raise solidarity consignments for babies and women.
Msimang’s homes in Tanzania, India and Zambia were open to students from southern Africa and to MK cadres she was a mother and an aunty to many. She mothered many during the exile years, including many of the ministers in the new dispensation. Her health forced her to step down from more demanding tasks, and she returned home to serve as a champion of the bereaved committee of the ANC, reconnecting displaced persons with their families, as well as locating and bringing back the remains of cadres who died internally and in exile.
Msimang loves to narrate moving stories about her comrades, the struggle of South Africa’s people for freedom, justice and equality. She reminds young people of where they come from and the future towards which they should aspire. Msimang looks forward to casting her vote in her beloved country’s fifth democratic national elections on May 7 2014.
