President Cyril Ramaphosa mourns passing of Ma Gertrude Ntiti Shope

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his profound sadness at the passing of educator, freedom fighter, trade unionist and former Member of Parliament Ma Gertrude Shope, who has passed away at the age of 99.

Ma Shope, as she was affectionately known, was a recipient in 2003 of the official Order for Meritorious Service (Silver), which recognised South Africans who had rendered exceptional public service, and which preceded the present-day National Orders.

President Ramaphosa offers his deep condolences to Ma Shope’s daughters, Ms Lyndall Shope-Mafole and South African Ambassador to Cuba Ms Thaninga Shope-Linney.

Their father was the late trade unionist, freedom fighter and revolutionary intellectual Mark Shope, and their brother, Lenin Magigwane Shope, who had been South Africa’s Ambassador to Senegal, passed away in December 2020.

President Ramaphosa said: “We have lost an eminent national heroine and mother to our nation.

“During a lifetime of close on a century, Ma Shope made a monumental contribution to our struggle for a free and inclusive South Africa, while inspiring generations of women and men to emulate her commitment.

“Her sacrifice, service and revolutionary bravery played out in formations from the African National Congress – where she was elected President of the Women’s League in 1990 – to the Federation of South African Women, the World Federation of Trade Unions and the first Parliament of the democratic South Africa.

“Her sacrifice included almost a quarter century in exile with her husband Mark and children in locations ranging from Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia to the then Czechoslovakia.

“She organised women and communities in our country as well as international organisations to oppose apartheid and alleviate the plight of oppressed communities while the struggle was underway.

“She also had the distinction of being listed as a co-conspirator in the Rivonia Trial, alongside Oliver Tambo, Joe Slovo, Ben Turok, Duma Nokwe, Joe Modise, Jack Hodgson and others.

“She was indeed an mbokodo that apartheid failed to erode or fracture, and she entered our first democratic Parliament in 1994 with a vibrancy and vision that made her an exemplary first-generation parliamentarian.

“Gertrude Shope lives on in our national memory and her life’s work is reflected in the transformation we have attained and continue to effect in our society.

“May her soul rest in peace.”

Media enquiries:
Vincent Magwenya
Spokesperson to the President
E-mail: media@presidency.gov.za

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