Article by: Dumisane Dube
Struggle stalwart and the wife of the late Moses Kotane; Rebecca Kotane, has passed away at the age of 108 at her home in Diepkloof, Soweto.
Rebecca Kotane passed away just a few days before her 109th birthday. Ma kotane’s death comes two years after the ANC celebrated her birthday at her home in Soweto.
“In 2017 we joined Mme Kotane in celebrating her 107th birthday. Though we are saddened by the passing of a stalwart of our movement, we are comforted by the knowledge that hers was a life well lived in the service of the people of our country.” said premier of Gauteng, David Makhura.
Ma Kotane was a freedom fighter during the apartheid era in South Africa. She was an activist and led a number of marches such as the 1956 women’s march to the Union Buildings
She is one of the many women who were arrested at the march and shared a cell with the likes of Albertina Sisulu, Helen Joseph, Lillian Ngoyi and Amina Cachalia, and spent two weeks in detention.
“Today the name of Moses Kotane cannot be mentioned without at one and the same time mentioning Rebecca Kotane, a hero of our struggle for liberation and social emancipation in her own right, and vice versa. Since their marriage in 1945, they intimately collaborated in the struggle against colonial and apartheid oppression, in the process helping to build and strengthen the Alliance and various organizations of the people,” the SACP said in its tribute to her.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) said it will observe a moment of silence for late Mamelodi Sundowns defender, Motjeka Madisha and late struggle stalwart, Ma Kotane. This will be observed from today’s #DstvPrem fixtures until the weekend and will also be observed before the start of #NdebankCup matches.
The African National Congress(ANC) said Ma Kotane was the only remaining elder of the movement who was the same age as the ANC.
Tributes are pouring in on social media for Ma Kotane.
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