Ntombi Shope
Ntombi Shope | |
|---|---|
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office 9 May 1994 – 13 August 2003 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 15 April 1950 Tzaneen, Northern Transvaal Union of South Africa |
| Died | 13 August 2003 (aged 53) |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Relations | Sheila Sithole (sister) |
| Parent | Mark Shope (father) |
Ntombi Regan Shope (15 April 1950 – 13 August 2003) was a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist who represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly from 1994 until her death in August 2003. During apartheid, she was a member of the United Democratic Front in the Transvaal and served a three-year prison sentence for aiding the ANC.
Early life and activism
[edit]Shope was born on 15 April 1950[1] in Tzaneen in the former Transvaal.[2] Her father was trade unionist Mark Shope, a Treason Triallist who went into exile abroad after the ANC was banned in 1960;[3] her sister, Sheila Sithole, was also an activist and ANC politician.[4]
In the early 1980s, Shope was active in the anti-apartheid movement through the Azanian Students' Organisation, the Federation of South African Women, and the United Democratic Front.[2] In 1984 to 1985, she was trialled in a high-profile criminal trial,[5] in which she was charged and then convicted of being a member of the ANC, of recruiting for the ANC, of keeping a dead letter box for transmitting messages to activists abroad, and of possessing banned literature.[3] In late January 1985, she was sentenced to three years' imprisonment.[3] Her cousin, Emma Ntimbane, was also jailed for refusing to testify against her.[3] At the Truth and Reconciliation Commission ten years later, a South African Police officer applied for amnesty for having tortured Shope in detention.[6]
Parliament: 1994–2003
[edit]After the ANC was unbanned in 1990, Shope became active in the ANC Women's League,[7] which Nelson Diale later described as "her political home".[2] In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, she was elected to represent the ANC in the National Assembly.[8] She was re-elected in 1999.[1] She died close to the end of her second term on 13 August 2003.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "General Notice: Notice 1319 of 1999 – Electoral Commission: Representatives Elected to the Various Legislatures" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 408, no. 20203. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Motion of Condolence: The late Mrs Ntombi Shope". People's Assembly. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d South Africa 1984: Renewed Resistance, Increased Repression (PDF). Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. 1985. pp. 17–18. ISSN 0887-8706. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ "International Children's Day (Debate)". People's Assembly. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ Karis, Thomas; Gerhart, Gail M.; Glaser, Clive (2010). From Protest to Challenge: A Documentary History of African Politics in South Africa, 1882-1990. Challenge and victory, 1980-1990. Indiana University Press. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-253-35422-8.
- ^ "TRC Final Report Volume 2, Section 1". Truth Commission Special Report. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ Meer, Shamim (1998). Women Speak: Reflections on Our Struggles, 1982-1997. Oxfam. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-85598-416-8.
- ^ South Africa: Campaign and Election Report April 26–29, 1994. International Republican Institute. 1994. Retrieved 13 April 2023 – via Yumpu.
- 1950 births
- 2003 deaths
- People from Tzaneen
- South African anti-apartheid activists
- African National Congress politicians
- Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 1994–1999
- Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa
- 21st-century South African politicians
- 21st-century South African women politicians
- 20th-century South African women politicians