By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The memorial service of the late African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee member and Deputy Secretary-General of the party, Jessie Duarte will be held at the Johannesburg City Hall on Thursday.
Duarte passed away on Sunday morning after a long struggle with cancer – and was buried on the same day as part of her Islamic faith.
The ANC said the party would be dedicating the week to honouring Duarte.
“She was disciplined and spoke the people’s language,” said the party’s spokesperson, Pule Mabe.
Duarte was an active politician from a young age.
She died while serving as ANC deputy secretary-general – a position she was first elected to at the ANC national conference in 2012.
Mabe has hailed the late ANC NEC member as a staunch advocate for gender equality and her role in the fight for liberation.
“She was a colossal giant whose track record in the struggle is unparalleled. The human rights activist and leader of absolute conviction to the cause. Like the warrior women who burnt their passes in 1913 as the defiant women who marched to the union buildings in 1956, comrade DSG was determined that women should occupy their rightful place in the struggle for national liberation.”
The ANC in Mpumalanga and the Free State is expected to hold their memorial services in honour of the stalwart on Wednesday while the ANC in Limpopo, the North West, and the Western Cape will bid Duarte farewell in a ceremony on Friday.