Mildred Ramakaba-Lesiea

Mandu Mildred Ramakaba-Lesiea (née Ramakaba; born 28 January 1933) is a South African politician and veteran of the African National Congress (ANC), which she joined in 1954. After the end of apartheid in 1994, she represented the ANC in the National Assembly from 1998 to 2004.

Ramakaba-Lesiea joined the ANC in the early years of the struggle against apartheid in order to participate in the campaign against the Bantu Education Act of 1953. In subsequent decades, she was a prominent figure in women's activism and community organising in Cape Town; she was imprisoned under the Suppression of Communist Act in the 1960s and was detained for her activism on several other occasions. In 2005, the South African government awarded her the Order of Luthuli in Silver in recognition of her contribution to the struggle.

Quotes

• I relived the trauma of solitary confinement, but I am much relieved that I’ve achieved this.
  • She said
• It was amazing to see the active engagement and this inspired me to try to start a discussion with my then torturer.
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• Imagine if you were given a name by your parents to identify you, and someone took it away and replaced it with a number? It’s the worst thing for a human.
  • She said
• No one can tell your story better than you, because you experienced it. I urge the veterans to pen your stories – tell your stories.
  • She said
• Many people have passed without telling their stories. We will cement our history, like the statues we see of Jan van Riebeek and Cecil John Rhodes in the city, but no memories of our struggle heroes. Don’t let the free South Africa die with us.
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• Those times we had proper allies and companionship. We did it for the love of our people. This country needs more love – we don’t have this now.
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• We are still a young democracy and people are still very mad about many things. I believe we should transform as a society. We need to create a dialogue and space for people to talk about the trauma of the past and a space for the young people to read about it.
  • She said
• Thank you for not forgetting who you are and where you come from.
  • She said
• Your story will never be forgotten. We know the pain of our country and it needs us to be strong.The fight of the people will never die on our watch.
  • She said