‘Most tortured woman detainee’ Gumede dies
THE community of Dlamini 2 in Soweto is mourning the death of struggle stalwart and PAC member Elizabeth Komikie Gumede, who died at her home on Monday. She was 95.
Gumede was born Elizabeth Ndlovu in Christiana, North West, on October 28 1921.
She was married to William Zomizi Gumede. The couple was blessed with 11 children.
Gumede gained prominence in 1978 following her arrest by the apartheid police for harbouring Azanian Peoples Liberation Army (Apla) guerillas who had infiltrated South Africa from Botswana.
Gumede was sentenced to five years under the infamous Terrorism Act.
At Kroonstad Prison in the Free State, Gumede met other famous political prisoners like former North West premier Thandi Modise and Winnie MadikizelaMandela.
One of the infiltrated Apla guerillas, Tshepiso Gumede, was her son. He was responsible for the Pan Africanist Congress’s armed wing’s operations and the Curtain Raiser and Homecoming campaigns.
Tshepiso’s unit was part of the original platoon of 25 guerillas who had been trained in Tanzania after the Soweto riots.
The group was subsequently divided into small units who entered South Africa from different fronts in 1978.
The unit led by Tshepiso and Dan Mofokeng entered the country from Botswana.
Former senior Apla commander and now retired South African National Defence Force General Mofokeng spoke highly of the Gumedes.
“The old lady saved our lives when we were operatives. We owe it to her because she refused to give us up to the security police and for this, she was tortured.
“She went to jail for Apla activities.
“In one operation, Kenny Mkhwanazi was killed while other comrades were arrested.
“I, together with General Justice Nkonyana, Colonel Tshepiso Gumede and others survived,” Mofokeng said.
“She was a friendly person. I was a soldier in Apla and she played her role in the armed struggle by harbouring and feeding us.
“Her sister was also jailed for three years.”
The Southern African Defence and Aid Fund, the London-based organisation that helped victims of apartheid, declared her the most tortured woman detainee in South Africa in the late 1970s.
Recognising her sterling contribution to the fight against apartheid, former president Thabo Mbeki honoured Gumede by awarding her the National Order of Mendi, in Bronze.
Gumede will be buried tomorrow at Avalon Cemetery in Soweto following a funeral service at her home at 6 Dube Road, Dlamini 2, Soweto.