Cape Town - ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte, who died in the early hours of Sunday, will be buried in accordance to Muslim burial rites in the afternoon.
Her brother Zane Dangor said Duarte fought bravely against cancer for eight months. “She will be sorely missed by all of us,” Dangor said.
Duarte, born in Coronationville in Johannesburg in September 1953, was undergoing treatment for cancer at the time of her death and has been on medical leave since she took ill in November 2021.
Prior to her illness, she was acting ANC secretary-general after the incumbent Ace Magashule was suspended.
Duarte, who has been deputy secretary since 2012, served the governing party and the government in various capacities.
Her history in the liberation struggle dates back to 1979 when she was recruited by the late struggle veteran Albertina Sisulu to set up women’s structures throughout the country.
In 1981, she served as the secretary of the Federation of Transvaal Women, an affiliate of the United Democratic Front.
In 1988, Duarte was detained without trial and was even placed under restriction orders until the lifting of the state of emergency.
Duarte also served as a personal assistant to both former president Nelson Mandela and liberation hero Walter Sisulu.
In the 1990s, Duarte served on the ANC Gauteng provincial executive committee (PEC).
She was the Gauteng Safety and Security MEC after the 1994 election and quit the position after admitting driving a state car without a driver’s licence.
Duarte was appointed as the South African ambassador to Mozambique between 1999 and 2003.
Duarte, who first served on the ANC national executive committee in 2002, was elected as the deputy secretary-general in 2012 and was then re-elected in 2017.
During her stint in the NEC, she was once the national spokesperson and worked briefly in the presidency under former president Jacob Zuma.
Last year Duarte indicated her intention to retire from active politics when the term of office of the current NEC ends later this year.
“The passing of comrade Jessie is a great loss, not only to the family, but to the democratic movement and the country as a whole. As a committed internationalist and former diplomat, not only will she be mourned by SA, but by colleagues and comrades on the African continent and in the international progressive movement,” ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe said.
Cape Times