/ 25 September 2003

Dogs kill ANC hero

African National Congress stalwart Onnica Mashohlwane Mashigo was killed by a pack of dogs on Saturday, The Star reported on Thursday.

Mashigo was prominent in the fight against apartheid and her house was a meeting point for top ANC members, including Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu.

She was living at the Itlhokomeleng old-age home in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, at the time of her death.

Mashigo’s mutilated body was found behind a block of toilets at the home.

She had been attacked by 14 stray dogs and died shortly after she was admitted to the Alexandra Clinic.

Mashigo led a delegation of women from Alexandra to the signing of the Freedom Charter in Kliptown in 1955. She was also a cell organiser of the anti-apartheid movement and took part in the 1986 uprisings in Alexandra known as the Six Day War. — Sapa