Sihlalo, angithokoze, ngilotjhise amalunga nabajameli bethu abakhethekileko, abomma nabobaba bethu abakhona ngeNdlini. [Chairperson, thank you, I greet all members and distinguished representatives, our mothers and fathers present in this House.]
On Thursday, 2 June, almost a week ago, our nation woke up to the shocking and sad news of the passing away of Mama Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu. We were shocked because our nation had lost one of its daughters and a devoted servant who served our people with humility until her last. Born in 1918, Abertina Sisulu had to take care of her brothers and sisters from a young age after her mother passed away. She originally planned to be a nun, but opted for nursing to earn a salary to take care of her family.
Allow me, hon Chairperson, to join our nation in mourning this great stalwart and champion of our people, and to pay tribute to a great South African whose life was a symbol of our nationhood and what all of us should emulate.
It is indeed fitting that our Council has designated this moment and chosen the theme "Celebrating the life of a distinguished and selfless servant of our people" to pay special tribute to this distinguished and selfless servant of our people. Many people whose lives crossed the path travelled by Mama Sisulu, as she was affectionately known by all our people, will say, without any hesitation, that she was truly pulsed with the ideals and principles of the struggle for liberation in our country.
I am sure that if given a moment to tell a little story about Mama Sisulu, each one of us will remember a million little things about the greatness and humility she represented and that constitute part of the composite picture that makes up the biography of the life of Mama Sisulu. She lived as a servant of the people, an advocate for humility and an outstanding cadre of the ANC.
The biography that many of us will write in our hearts and minds will speak of a dedicated champion for gender equality and the advancement of women in our society. It will convey the reality of a life of one of the most accomplished, courageous women leaders whose life remains the embodiment of the struggle against apartheid. She was one of the last living monuments of the true meaning of human greatness and sacrifice for our people.
I will paint a picture of a selfless servant who was truly loyal to the principles and ideals of the greater good of our nationhood and spirit of ubuntu. It will remind us of the personal sacrifices that Mama Sisulu made for the liberation of our people. It will tell a story of a selfless and committed servant who kept the embers of the dream of freedom alive in deeds and in words.
When we bring together all the little fragments, each one of us will come to the conclusion that our nation has lost a true servant whose life will remain a road map of humility, dedication and kindness.
I am sure, if Mama Sisulu had been among us today, she would unashamedly have risen with a glowing smile and humility to remind us that these are tributes she shares with many of the heroes and heroines. These are glowing tributes that our people died and paid for through their immortal lives. With many of the heroes and heroines of our movement who will be welcoming her on the other side, she would not have hesitated to remind us that the sacrifices she made were tasks and services expected from each one of us in this House.
Hon Chairperson, Mama Sisulu was truly the embodiment of the principles, values, ideals and character of the ANC of John Langalibalele Dube, Alfred Bitini Xuma, James Sebe Moroka, Albert Luthuli, Oliver Reginald Tambo, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, Lillian Ngoyi, Dorothy Nyembe, Charlotte Maxeke and many others. The death of Mama Sisulu has come only a few months before we reach the centenary of our movement. It has robbed us of one of the living pieces of the history of the ideals and principles of our movement.
Mama Sisulu was the beloved wife of the one of great sons of our movement, Isithwalandwe Walter Sisulu. She was a mother, grandmother, great- grandmother and, above all, the mother of the nation. We honour her legacy and are truly grateful the contribution she made to our society.
Mama Sisulu was the first woman to be arrested under the General Law Amendment Act, Act 37 of 1963, that gave the police the power to arrest and hold people in detention for 90 days without charging them. Like her husband, she was jailed from time to time, spending time in solitary confinement in 1981. At the age of 63, she was arrested and tried for furthering the aims of the ANC and sentenced to four years' imprisonment while her husband was serving a life sentence together with Nelson Mandela, his lifelong friend.
On 9 August 1956, she led 20 000 women in a historic march to the Union Buildings to protest against the pass laws, which restricted the movements of blacks. Mama Sisulu was one of the founding members of the ANC Women's League, ANCWL. Her selflessness and astounding commitment to gender equality and fighting for the rights of the marginalised saw her serve the ANC and ANCWL in various positions. Mama Sisulu played a pivotal role in re- establishing the ANCWL after the unbanning of the ANC in 1990. She was one of the key people who served on a committee that re-established the ANCWL and was elected to serve on the ANC's national executive committee in 1991.
Hon Chairperson, we say farewell to this pulse of our movement and a great South African. We know that when the roll call is read on the parade ground, we will find the name of Mama Sisulu among those who will be present and ready to work for the ANC. We know that when she reaches the other side of life, she will join the rest of the heroes and heroines of the ANC and always stand ready to look upon us as we advance our quest to build a better South Africa.
We want to extend our deepest and profoundly heartfelt condolences to the Sisulu family and the people of South Africa on the loss of a mother, grandmother and counsellor of the moral values, human dignity, respect and discipline that were the embodiment of the formation of the ANC.
We hope that we all shall find comfort in knowing that the sacrifices and kind deeds of Mama Sisulu will continue to serve as a living memorial of an outstanding example of what it is to be a dedicated South African and a servant of our people. We are truly grateful and humble for the sacrifices Mama Sisulu made for our nation. It is said that only the brave dare look upon the grave, and that is what Mama Sisulu believed in. She was brave and she dared look upon the grave. May her soul rest in peace!
Hamba kahle Xhamela! [Farewell, Xhamela!]
Thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]
Hon Chair, Albertina Sisulu was a veteran of the anti- apartheid movement for as long as we can remember. She died on 2 June 2011, aged 92. The Sisulu family is known for their dedication to democracy. Mrs Sisulu lived to see three of her five children become leading figures in a democratic South Africa, of which hon Max Sisulu is the Speaker of the National Assembly and the hon Lindiwe Sisulu is the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. Another daughter, Beryl Sisulu, is South Africa's ambassador to Norway.
In 1954 Mrs Sisulu, who was a qualified nurse, joined the Federation of South African Women and was present at many of the landmark moments of the anti-apartheid movement. These included the launch in 1955 of the Freedom Charter, which proclaims: "South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white."
On 9 August 1956, 20 000 women, black and white, marched to the Union Buildings to hand over petitions with 100 000 signatures to Prime Minister J G Strijdom. These women protested against the proposed amendment to the Urban Areas Act, commonly known as the pass laws of 1950. Women had to carry pass books wherever they went, and these were not issued easily or with understanding.
Outside, they stood silently for 30 minutes and then they sang a protest song, "Wathint' abafazi, wathint' imbokodo!" - Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock! In the next 50 years the phrase or the later incarnation changed: You strike a woman, you strike a rock!
With our diverse cultures in South Africa we embrace the commemoration of the women in our country by accepting each other and our cultures inclusively and with pride.
Die Demokratiese Alliansie bring hulde aan die lewe van mama Sisulu en vir die rol wat sy in die demokrasie van Suid-Afrika gespeel het. [The Democratic Alliance pays tribute to the life of Mama Sisulu and for the role she has played in the democratisation of South Africa.]
We offer our sincere condolences to the Sisulu family. May your fond memories of her console you in your time of grief. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson and members, we express deep sorrow at the passing of Mama Albertina Sisulu. Like our father, Nelson Mandela, she acquired the European name "Albertina" at a Presbyterian missionary school.
I had the privilege to work under Ma Sisulu in the 1980s. She was one of our presidents in the United Democratic Front. I will forever cherish everything that Mama Sisulu taught us during the dark and hard days of apartheid. One of the things that I shall never forget is that she said one must always stand steadfast for what one believes.
Ma Sisulu had such a huge influence and impact on my political life that I named one of my three daughters after her, Albertina. I can say without any doubt that Ma Sisulu will always be in the Bloem family. Ma Sisulu's disciplined upbringing and remarkable ability to care for others made her one of the most remarkable nurses in our country.
Although she earned very little, she was willing to make sacrifices and send as much money home as she could. Six months into her training, she witnessed blatant racism and discrimination against black patients who were admitted to hospital after a horrific accident at Park Station. The accident victims were flooding into the non-European section of the hospital and hospital authorities refused to allow black patients to be treated in the European wards.
This incident had a profound effect on Mama Sisulu, as she could not believe that medical practitioners would violate the Hippocratic Oath and deny the best possible care to patients simply because they were of a different skin colour.
The hospital matron also flatly refused to allow Ma Sisulu to return home to mourn her mother's death, despite interventions and pleas offered by the Catholic priest at Rosettenville. Mama Sisulu began to understand what life as a third-class citizen entailed. Her humanity was disregarded. Ma Sisulu could have become bitter and negative; instead she chose to serve and fight to end oppression and its experience.
The wise words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr come to mind here. He said:
Everybody can be great ... You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace; a soul generated by love.
Martin Luther King Jr could have been speaking about Mama Sisulu. What made her a person above others was her deep desire to serve. The service she rendered in health and in politics is her legacy to all of us. We must cherish this legacy because it was made with sweat, tears, suffering and service. Her legacy must live on so that our society can still be served by her thoughts, through others who adopt her as a role model and who live by the values she upheld all through her life.
Mama Sisulu was a widely respected and honoured individual. People across all political divisions saw her as an outstanding citizen, a wonderful human being and a gifted leader. That is why we mourn her death.
In extending our most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mama Sisulu, we remind them that they will now have to fill the role that the elder Sisulus filled with such singularity in their political life.
Mama, we salute you! Thank you very much for the freedom you gave to all of us, black and white. Go well, Mama! Thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon members, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, indeed, today is a day that we really need to stand still and ask ourselves the question: Where would we have been without people like Mama Albertina Sisulu?
Indeed, a name is the most important foundation of any life. The meaning of a name greatly influences a person's future endeavours and character. Mama Albertina Sisulu was deserving of her name, as she embodied brilliance, intelligence, nobility and fame. She is said to have been a cheerful and humble child, who was the light in her family home and her light has always shone on South Africa and the world.
Although her death has come as a great shock to the entire nation, we can never forget her self-denial and the sacrifices that she made in the role she played to win South Africa its freedom. There is no prize in the world that can match this.
South Africa was and is her family, and she deserves her legendary title: Mother of the Nation. Sacrifices did not come easy, but Ma Sisulu was in the true sense a woman of integrity and wisdom and a mother of understanding. As King David said to Abigail in 1 Samuel 25:32 to 33:
Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands.
The Sisulu family have made great strides and played a vital role in South Africa's history. They have become a landmark in South African politics.
In 1987, Mama Albertina's immortal words touched many women around the country and around the world when she said, and I quote:
Women 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.
Those words started a revolution that today continues to see the empowerment and achievements of women in South Africa, especially in the South African political spectrum. Her words were the cornerstone of the emancipation of South African women.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the surviving family, especially the late Albertina's son, Speaker of Parliament, Max Sisulu, and her daughter, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Lindiwe Sisulu, and all the other people in the family in their time of bereavement. The late Mrs Sisulu not only gave birth to humble and respectable children, but also to our new democracy so that today we can stand here and speak on her behalf and have sweet memories of her. We strongly believe that the Sisulu legacy will live on through them. Mama Albertina's sweet and gentle ways will always live in our memories. She will be sorely missed. May her soul rest in peace! I thank you. [Applause.]
UMntwana M M M ZULU: Sihlalo, malungu ahloniphekile ale Ndlu, abahlonishwa oNgqongqoshe abakhona kule Ndlu, egameni leqembu leNkatha yeNkululeko yeSizwe, umholi wayo nabantu bonke bakwaZulu nendlu yonke kaMpande, sizwakalisa okukhulu ukudabuka ngokuhamba kukaMama uSisulu emhlabeni.
Noma sasizilindele izinsuku ezinjengalezi ukuthi bonke abantu bayohamba ngoba indlela yethu sonke ukuba sihambe kanje. Uma seyifikile indlela kuye kungajwayeleki ngoba kusuke kuyindlela yeminyaka. Lo Mama ubengumama ongumngani kubo bonke abantu - uma uzwa ngabaziyo - umama obengumama wesizwe uqobo.
Lowo mzwabalazo azabalaza kuwo engumuntu wesifazane umyeni engekho, lokho kukhulisa izingane, nalokho kubheka wonke umuntu waseNingizimu Afrika owayesemzabalazweni ngaleso sikhathi; ngithi lezi zinsuku zifike kabi iminyaka imincane kule minyaka eyishumi nesikhombisa izwe lakithi lakhululeka ngoba uhambe engasazibonanga zonke izibusiso.
Ubaba uSisulu wayekhethile, ngoba kuyafuneka ukuthi kube khona umama onozwelo lomyeni wakhe. Kuyafuneka ukuthi ube khona lowo mama onozwelo lomndeni wakhe. Kuyafuneka ukuthi kubekhona lowo mama olithandayo izwe lakhe ngendlela uMama uSisulu enze ngayo. Ngoba, uma ubheka konke ukuhamba kwakhe kule minyaka engamashumi ayisishiyagalolunye nambili ngibona ukuthi kube yindlela ende ngoba kusho ukuthi ubencelisa wonke umuntu okhona eNingizimu Afrika.
Ngithi-ke egameni labantu bakwaZulu, egameni leNdlunkulu yonke yesizwe samaZulu ngizwakalisa ukudabuka ukuthi uMama ahambe ngalolu hlobo noma besazi ukuthi wonke umuntu ulindwe yindlela yokuhamba kodwa kukhona izinto osuke ungazilindele ukuthi zizokwenzeka. Ngiyabonga. (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)
[Prince M M M ZULU: Chairperson, hon members of this House, hon Ministers who are in this Chamber, I would like to express my condolences on the passing of Mrs Sisulu on behalf of the Inkatha Freedom Party, the party's leader, the people of KwaZulu-Natal and the whole house of Mpande.
Even though we are always mindful that everybody will one day depart from this world because this is how we are going to go, when that time comes we always struggle to come to terms with it. This woman was friendly - you hear this from the people who knew her well - she was a real mother of the nation.
She was in the struggle alone as a woman in the absence of her husband. She raised her children alone and took care of every South African who was in the struggle. She did not live long enough to receive all her blessings; she had only 17 years of freedom.
Mr Sisulu chose the best wife, because a woman must show sympathy for her husband, her family and her country like Mrs Sisulu. I think she lived for 92 years in order for her to nurture everyone in South Africa.
On behalf of the people of KwaZulu-Natal, and the Zulu royal family, I would like to express my condolences on the passing of Mrs Sisulu. Even though we all know that this day will come one day, we are never prepared for it. Thank you.]
Hon Chair, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, special delegates, on behalf of the ANC in this august House, I must confess that it is not an easy task to speak of such a gallant fighter, especially sitting next to a veteran who would have better performed this responsibility.
Nevertheless, hon Chair, as the ANC we feel that Mama Sisulu's death has robbed us of a member of the generation that fought the greatest of all moral battles of the 20th century. With Nelson Mandela, she was one of the last of those leaders of the ANC who were young in the early 1940s, when her late husband, Walter Sisulu, the late Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela were fired with a conviction that would change the shape of South Africa.
Mama Sisulu was undoubtedly one of the most accomplished, dynamic and courageous servants who served the ANC and the liberation with distinction. She joined the illustrious list of dedicated leaders and cadres of the movement who played a pivotal role in helping define the political and social fabric of a postapartheid South Africa.
She was an embodiment of the principles and ideals of the ANC, in character and deed. She lived a life that was dedicated to serving the people of South Africa. Her character, of course, was moulded by the same difficult working-class and peasant circumstances and conditions that are facing many of our people, even today.
At a tender age, she was challenged with the responsibility of bringing up her siblings. Despite coming from an impoverished background and being orphaned as a teenager, she was still obliged to rise to the occasion and take care of her siblings. Eventually, having pursued other career interests that she had, she trained as a nurse in Johannesburg and qualified as one of the few qualified midwives in order to financially support her siblings at home.
This youthful self-denial and discipline manifested in her strength, steadfastness and courage through the devastating years of apartheid and struggle, not only for the liberation, but also for survival in her own surroundings.
She married the late Comrade Walter Sisulu, who was later elected full-time secretary-general of the ANC - of course, most importantly, with Nelson Mandela there as the best man. They settled in Orlando township in Soweto, where they stayed for 45 years. Being one of the greatest heroes of the liberation struggle was perhaps not a path that she chose for herself, yet she was such a force for good and a servant to the people, especially the poor and the working class, women, young people and the disenfranchised, that she plunged wholeheartedly into the struggle and emerged from years of hardship, detention, banning and arrest as a major political figure in her own right.
Her husband was imprisoned several times, banned, placed under house arrest and finally sentenced to life alongside Nelson Mandela and six other leaders. During those horrific years of hardship and apartheid as a single and devastated mother, she supported her children with the greatest of respect and dedication. Like her husband, she also suffered cruel and vengeful persecution by the racist apartheid regime, and was banned and jailed frequently, spending time in solitary confinement - more especially, as a woman after giving birth to a child. Like many other leaders of the ANC, Mama Sisulu spent most of her life in prison and serving our people.
Throughout this time she kept the embers of resistance and the dream of freedom alive. In 1983 she was the co-founder of the United Democratic Front and she was elected as co-president of the movement while in prison. In 1989 the United States and the British government invited her to visit President Bush and Prime Minister Thatcher as the patroness of the principal black opposition group in South Africa - a very interesting epoch.
She was a humble but forceful woman and kept her dignity throughout decades of government harassment. As Bishop Tutu said when he paid tribute to her, and I quote:
But try as they might, they could not break her spirit, they could not make her bitter, they could not defeat her love. She played an important role in the ANC Women's League and the Federation of South African Women in the 1950s. When the ANC Women's League was relaunched in 1990, she was elected deputy president.
In 1994 she was elected as a Member of Parliament, where she served until 1998, when she retired from active politics, though remained acting as a servant of the people and the working class. For 50 years she had committed herself to the Albertina Sisulu Foundation, which focused on the plight of small children and old women. For her commitment to the struggle against apartheid and her social work among women and children she was honoured by the World Peace Council in Switzerland, when she was elected president of the council. Two honorary doctorates were also bestowed on her for her dedication to the cause of democracy in our country.
She was a stalwart of the struggle against apartheid; a beloved member and leader of the ANC and other organisations; a professional nurse and caregiver; an activist for humanity, dignity, equality and nonracism; a Member of Parliament; a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great- grandmother; and a mother of the nation.
Despite her hardships, she maintained the spirit of ubuntu and held no bitterness towards the whites of this country. Even the people who tortured her would always be welcome in her house, and she would always maintain that there was a clear distinction between the apartheid regime and the people who perpetuated the system. For this reason they remained in Soweto as a family and always said: "When they knock, we have to get up and see what we can do. We belong to the people. This is our work and it is better for us to be within their reach."
In conclusion, Chair, she and her husband lived on the edge of poverty most of their lives, yet their passion for liberation gave them a vision of a future that saw the ANC as the centre of events. In a tribute to Mama Sisulu and her husband, former President Nelson Mandela said, and I quote:
There can be no greater and more inspiring example in the history of our organisation and hence of our country than Walter and Albertina Sisulu: a couple whose every deed speaks of leadership that made the kind of difference that brought us to where we are today as a country and as a people ... It is time that the story of our nation be told.
I thank you very much, Comrade Chairperson.
The Council observed a moment of silence in honour of the late Mama Nontsikelelo Albertina Sisulu.
May her soul rest in peace.
Debate concluded.