By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Former senior ANC MP and ActionSA Western Cape Chairperson Vytjie Mentor (58) died on Tuesday morning after a long illness, Action SA confirmed.
The party says Mentor had been ill for some time.
“This morning, her family called to inform us that she had succumbed to her illness after being hospitalised for several months.
“It should not be forgotten that Vytjie Mentor was the first to sound the alarm on what we today call “State Capture.”
Mentor served as an ANC Member of Parliament from 2002 to 2014 before joining ActionSA as its Provincial Chairperson in the Western Cape.
She was the ANC’s caucus chairperson between 2004 and 2008 and was chairperson of the portfolio committee on public enterprises from 2009 to 2010.
Mentor was among the first group of people who spoke out against the controversial Gupta family’s involvement in appointing individuals to key positions in government under former President Jacob Zuma’s tenure.
She had, as far as 2016, raised the alarm about the issue on various platforms, including the Public Protector.
She later wrote a book about her experience as an ANC member and it was titled No Holy Cows.
ActionSA says Mentor was a true patriot who served her country even in the face of criticism.
“We will keep the family and friends of Vytjie in our thoughts and prayers and ask that her loved ones be given the privacy to grieve during this time.”
Mentor, stepped down from her role in ActionSA earlier year to assume new responsibilities within the party.
Mentor was born in Kimberly, Northern Cape. Her father was the 1st black African police station commander, based in Welkom, and her mother was a schoolteacher.
Her father, to get her away from political influences, took her to boarding school in the rural Northern Cape. Unawares to him, it was this School Principal, a member of the ANC underground, that recruited Vytjie into the ANC at the age of 13.
Due to her political activities, Vytjie was detained numerous times by the police, including during both states of emergency. During one of these detentions, Vytjie participated in a hunger strike of political detainees and prisoners. She lasted 39 days before being forced into hospital under heavy police guard.
After this Vytjie was under house arrest and fulltime police surveillance. She was not allowed to be in the company of more than 10 people, which meant she could not perform her duties as a qualified teacher.
Vytjie held a Higher Diploma in Education and an Honours in Management.