For decades, Mama Albertina Sisulu ran the race for freedom for all. She ran the race with dignity, charm and selflessness.
She could have been rich, but she chose to be a humble servant committed to improving the lives of others. And now, as her life has come to an end, it’s time for South Africans and women in particular to take over the “spear” by rediscovering the values that MaSisulu embodied, some of which have been lost.
These were some of the tributes paid to MaSisulu during a memorial service held at the Johannesburg City Hall yesterday.
Hundreds of people and dignitaries, including Dali Tambo and his wife Rachel, and former Constitutional Court chief justice Pius Langa, where there to celebrate and pay tribute to the ANC stalwart.
ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa said MaSisulu was a mother, not only in the literal sense of the word, but also a spiritual and comforting mother who guided the nation quietly, without anger and aggression.
“She literally created a womb for the downtrodden and oppressed to hide in and to feel the warmth of her character, her spirit and her peaceful and dignified resistance… A comforting mother as someone who went through all the pain and hurt of apartheid herself but never allowed it to diminish from her outreach to others and her embodiment of bravery and integrity,” Phosa said.
Speaking about MaSisulu and her role as an adviser, Phosa told how Nelson Mandela had requested that she be part of post-apartheid negotiations after he noticed her name was absent from the initial list of negotiators.
“We must salute this special mother,” he said, adding that if South Africans didn’t capture the values she stood for, the revolution would be lost.
Gauteng MEC for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation Lebogang Maile, who is also the ANC Youth League’s Gauteng chairman, said MaSisulu had played a major role in mobilising people during the Struggle.
As a “humble servant” she had endured everything that was thrown at her during apartheid to secure freedom for all. Maile urged the government to “recommit ourselves as cadres” to the people.