Time Mama Sobukwe recognised for Struggle credentials
ON APRIL 28, a day after Freedom Day, 90-year-old Struggle stalwart and anti-apartheid activist affectionately known as the “Mother of Azania”, Mama Zondeni Veronica Sobukwe, will be awarded the Order of Luthuli (silver) by President Cyril Ramaphosa at Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse in Pretoria.
Her son, Dini Sobukwe, will receive the award on her behalf.
Significantly, Mama Sobukwe receives this long-overdue honour in this year marking the 40th commemoration of the death under banishment of her husband, founding president of the PAC and a liberation struggle icon, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, and exactly a day after South Africa celebrates 25 years since the dawn of democracy.
This is the first time the government is recognising and honouring her.
Mama Sobukwe’s name was nominated for receipt of the national order award by members of the Blackhouse Kollective in Soweto following the Zondeni Veronica Sobukwe Tribute Lecture dedicated in her honour during Women’s Month last year in recognition of her muted and silenced contribution to the Struggle.
The Tribute Lecture was the first national initiative that celebrated the immense contributions of Mama Sobukwe to the liberation struggle, inscribing her in national public discourse.
To further honour her uncelebrated legacy, and to highlight the critical role she played in the fight against apartheid white supremacy and inscribe her in national memory, the Blackhouse Kollective nominated Mama Sobukwe to receive the highest honour in the country, the Order of Maphungubwe: platinum.
However, the government decided to honour her with the Order of Luthuli: Silver, awarded to South Africans who have served the interests of South Africa by making meaningful contribution in the struggle for democracy, human rights, nation-building, justice and peace.
While acknowledging that more can be done to honour her legacy and celebrate her contribution to the liberation cause, the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Trust, and the Blackhouse Kollective welcomes this significant honour bestowed upon Mama Sobukwe as the first step towards the genuine and meaningful recognition of one of the nation’s least known and celebrated heroines.
My mother epitomises the collective experiences of many other black women, whose roles and contributions to the liberation struggle remain unacknowledged, written out of popular historical narratives, biographical memory and national consciousness.
“It is most befitting that the South African government decided to honour her as we commemorate the 40th anniversary of the death under banishment of Robert Sobukwe; we hope that more will be done to celebrate her and other women Struggle stalwarts going forward,” said Dini Sobukwe, the executive director trustee at the Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Trust.
Mama Sobukwe deserves the highest honour in our nation for her enduring resilience and quiet courage. A freedom fighter and a liberation heroine in her own right, she has suffered immensely for her family and the nation at large, without ever complaining or seeking attention.
This award comes a little too late, but it is certainly fitting that she should be celebrated and honoured while still alive and in our midst. Zandi Radebe Chief executive of Blackhouse Kollective