South African Anti-Apartheid Veteran Albertina Sisulu Dies at 92

The University of Johannesburg confers an honorory doctoral degree (Doctor Litterarum et Philosophiae (honoris causa)) to Albertina Sisulu in acknowledgment of her revolutionary role in pre-1994 South Africa. (Photo: Dawidl)

South African Anti-Apartheid Veteran Albertina Sisulu Dies at 92
Thursday, 2 June 2011

A veteran of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, Albertina Sisulu, had died in her Johannesburg home. She was 92.

Sisulu was an important figure in the ANC Women's League at the height of apartheid and was the widow of Walter Sisulu, one of Nelson Mandela's mentors. Walter Sisulu died in 2003.

The ruling African National Congress said Thursday that Albertina Sisulu dedicated all her life to the ANC and to the defeat of apartheid in South Africa.

Sisulu reared five children while her husband spent 25 years in prison on Robben Island alongside Mr. Mandela. Albertina Sisulu also spent months in prison and often had her movements restricted by the apartheid government.

Albertina Sisulu held leadership posts in the ANC and served in parliament, taking a seat after the first all-race elections in 1994.

She lived to see her children take prominent positions in post-apartheid South Africa. Her daughter, Lindiwe Sisulu, is defense minister and her son, Max Sisulu, is a member of parliament.