ANCWL STATEMENT ON THE PASSING ON OF ANCWL DEPUTY PRESIDENT CDE NOSIPHO NTWANAMBI
8 JULY 2014
It is with a profound sense of loss and deep sorrow that the African National Congress Women's League has received the news of the passing on of our Deputy President and ANC National Executive Committee member, Comrade Nosipho Dorothy Ntwanambi, earlier this evening. With Comrade Ntwanambi's passing the ANC Women's League and the broader Congress movement has lost an organiser, a dedicated servant of our people, a community builder, a gender activist and an ardent advocate for equality in line with our movement's vision of a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and united nation. Our sorrow cannot however compare with that of her closest family and friends, who borrowed her to our movement and our people, to them we owe a deep debt of gratitude for having shared Comrade Nosipho with us.
Comrade Nosipho has served the African National Congress and its Women's League with distinction as a political activist for more than three decades. In her younger days, she was at the forefront of community and youth activism. A dedicated educator, Comrade Dorothy was a founding member of the United Women's Organisation and the Democratic Teachers' Union, the forerunner to the South African Democratic Teachers' Union SADTU.
Comrade Nosipho Ntwanambi joined the National Council of Provinces in 1999, serving in various capacities including as Chairperson of the Select Committee on Economic and Foreign Affairs in 2004. In the fourth democratic administration, Comrade Ntwanambi served as the Chief Whip in the National Council of Provinces.
A determined advocate and agitator for the empowerment of women and gender equality, Comrade Ntwanambi will be best remembered for her unrelenting commitment to the fight against gender based violence and her resolute belief in the ANC and the ANC Women's League as reliable tools in the hands of our people to effect fundamental and far-reaching transformation in the struggle for the total liberation and emancipation of women in South Africa.