Speaker, thank you for this opportunity to speak. We thank Parliament for offering us an opportunity to say a word or two in tribute to the late Maele Isabel Direko, popularly known as Mistress Winkie, a former member of this House, and my mother. I thank the movement, the ANC, for asking me to speak on its behalf on this huge personality from its pipeline of leadership of great depth.
It is a privilege because it so happens that she was a close friend of, and fellow teacher with, both my late parents. She also invited me to serve on her executive council as the MEC for Local Government and Housing, when the ANC asked her to lead the province.
The turnout at her funeral was a testimony to the many ways in which she was very popular, not only in the Free State, but throughout most parts of our country.
She was outspoken, she was decisive, and she was firm when she was convinced of her case. The campaign on HIV/Aids in the Free State, which she led from the front, will be remembered for a long time by many listeners to radio stations, such as the ones Ntate Mphahlele referred to, because of the manner in which it resonated with teenagers and parents alike. Because of its straightforward language - no mincing of words! - they knew what she was talking about. She did not try to put it diplomatically; she was absolutely clear about what she thought they should do.
At the funeral of someone she loved, she told mourners that it was a pity that God had not consulted her. She would have advised Him that there were many sitting there who really deserved to go, and not this good person lying in front of them there! [Laughter.] She spoke frankly, often in flowery township language that made her a real favourite speaker at all kinds of events, serious and light-hearted. She had an absolutely mischievous sense of humour, as I said earlier on.
The daughter of a labourer and a domestic worker, she was passionate about education, as other members have pointed out here, and it was a personal matter for her, because of her background, her parents, and also the community in which she lived. She studied and graduated in her old age with a Master's degree in education, and ended up being the Chancellor of the University of the Free State. She was very proud to have served in the Portfolio Committees on Basic Education and on Social Development here in Parliament, because to her these were a personal continuation of what she had done throughout her life, which she would have liked to see all of us doing.
She was also passionate about helping the poor and destitute. She often used her own family groceries to help feed some hungry family, who would have communicated with her indirectly through one person or another. She was a prominent member of the National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders, Nicro, and fought battles against crime. She also worked tirelessly to give witness in mitigation for offenders so that they were treated humanely, even if they were convicted. She continually worked to roll back the brutality of the apartheid system.
It was because of these things that the ANC chose her as its representative on the Judicial Service Commission, in order to give her experience to that sector.
She was connected to a large network and very well informed. She once dramatically discovered the whereabouts of the late Moses Kotane and also of Thomas Nkobi, who on different occasions found themselves arrested and taken to a police station in Bloemfontein. Moses Kotane, the late Treasurer General of the ANC and the Secretary General of the SACP, requested her to bring him the South African law book, which he used to prepare his case and he successfully defended himself as a result. Thomas Nkobi, on the other hand, asked her to find him a train ticket which he would use to build his alibi to explain his presence in Bloemfontein without the permit required by the influx control laws of that time. Mistress Winkie bought him half a loaf of bread and cool drink. On his eating the bread, Thomas Nkobi found his train ticket in it. He, too, won his case, assisted in this way by Mistress Winkie. She was very streetwise.
Many families will always remember her fondly for her having helped them bury their loved ones with dignity. She mobilised all sorts of help on hearing of someone who didn't know where to get help. She was indeed an exemplary public representative, who inspired many of us by showing us what it means to be caring.
Speaking on her 80th birthday, Ntate Molemela, the founder of Bloemfontein Celtic FC, we are told, commented nostalgically on the fact that when they were growing up, Mistress Winkie was a head turner for young men of his age. He also pointed out that she walked into areas where even men were afraid to tread, and did things that they were afraid to do. Her courage and fearlessness, for which she had a reputation, led her in a big way.
It was, I believe, this humaneness in her that allowed people to take her very public criticisms and guidance with a smile, things at which they would have taken offence if they had come from other people. When she chided people, either in private or in public, she did it with passion, if she believed that they were absolutely wrong. That was the reason that many people, although angry sometimes, took it with a smile. They knew that this person was saying it from her heart. And when the need arose, she was extremely good to them. She was very motherly and helpful in many ways, not only to her own, but to others as well.
She never glorified the working class, because she was of them, she belonged among them, and this is why she was trusted the way she was. She died at the age of 82, wanting to be remembered as a community activist rather than as a politician, as she used to say, but she was interred to rest at the Heroes Acre in Phahameng in Bloemfontein, amongst revolutionaries and activists, many of whom she taught and worked with.
We as the ANC convey our condolences to the family and the community of Mangaung on their loss of a formidable leader who lived long and was building a humane society - a task we must continue to carry out with determination.
We must also thank the Speaker for representing us well, as members of the House, at Mistress Winkie's home and during her funeral. His message was warmly received, because people understood that the work that Mistress Winkie did as an MP was done on their behalf as well.
We appreciate the legacy she has left behind - it is a tough assignment to carry on with. We hope that many people in Mangaung will not forget the good she did for others, and that we can continue to build this as a monument to her, helping others who still need the kind of help she made available in that community. I thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.