Struggle stalwart Ncumisa Kondlo was a warrior, revolutionary and patriot, African National Congress (ANC) president Jacob Zuma said at her funeral in the Eastern Cape on Saturday.
It was with ”deep sorrow and sadness” that she was laid to rest, Zuma told dignitaries, families and friends who gathered to mourn her at her village of Ndwayana.
She was ”an outstanding and courageous daughter of our struggle”, said Zuma, who also described Kondlo as a leading member of the ANC and of the South African Communist Party (SACP).
Kondlo died at the age of 50 in East London of an undisclosed illness on March 24.
She had made ”great advances” in realising liberation goals and contributed to nation-building, said Zuma, urging mourners to ”pick up her spear and carry on”.
”We cannot mourn, we must mobilise,” he said
In expressing its condolences to her family and that of her husband — the Mthwazi family — at their ”great loss”, the SACP said Kondlo had been one of its most dedicated and loyal cadres.
At the time of her death, Kondlo was a member of ANC’s newly elected national executive committee, also served on its national working committee and was the party’s caucus chairperson in Parliament.
Kondlo also held the position of SACP deputy chairperson. — Sapa