Hundreds of mourners paid their final respects to ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte as she was laid to rest. Picture: Timothy Bernard/African News Agency (ANA)
A “selfless woman” who worked for the people until the end.
That’s how ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte was remembered at her special official funeral at Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg on Sunday.
Duarte, the longest-serving woman in the ANC Top Six, passed away in the early hours of Sunday following a short bout with cancer.
Duarte served almost 10 years as the deputy secretary-general and 25 years on the ANC national executive committee.
Delivering the eulogy, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Duarte had the courage to speak out honestly and directly about the abuses and destructive tendencies within the movement and the government.
“Our nation calls out for people who are not afraid to confront wrongdoing and to speak the hard truth. Our nation calls for people who in the face of severe resistance champion values of honesty, integrity, selflessness and service to the people of our country,” he said.
Among those present at the funeral were former president Kgalema Motlanthe, former Gauteng premier Tokyo Sexwale, Gauteng current Premier David Makhura, ministers and ANC leaders. Ex-president Jacob Zuma had also sent Duarte well-wishes before her passing.
Ramaphosa said: “Although our beloved comrade Jessie has been gravely ill for several months, it is difficult to comprehend someone with such vitality, energy and spirit has departed from this earth and has been taken away from us.”
Duarte had been taken away from them before they had the opportunity to say goodbye, he said.
“As officials of the ANC we had arranged to see her today (Sunday) at 2pm. We had seen her a few months ago. When we saw her, we were encouraged by the progress she was making in dealing very bravely with her illness. This passing of comrade Jessie today is a sad moment for all of us.”
He described Duarte as a faithful, dedicated and fiercely loyal leader of the ANC.
“It is difficult to imagine the ANC without our beloved deputy secretary-general and to think we will never again hear her voice and laughter carrying down the corridors of Luthuli House.
“From the years of her youth to her final day she served the people of South Africa with distinction, with dedication, with humility and with passion,” he said.
Paying tribute on behalf of the ANC and the Alliance, ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile said they will continue with her legacy of selflessness, discipline, hard work and of caring for the poor
“We want to thank the family for having allowed comrade Jessie to be part of this movement. You never said comrade Jessie, ‘you are harassed by and they harass, stop what you are doing’.”
She went to prison, came out and continued, Mashatile said.
He described her as a “selfless woman” who worked for the people till the end.
The ANC has declared from Sunday a week of mourning for Duarte.
“Provinces of the ANC have been directed to fly the ANC flag at half mast. Each province is expected to organise a provincial memorial service during this period,” Mashatile said.
He said the national memorial service will take place on Thursday at a venue still to be announced. Details, including the venue, will be communicated at a later stage.
Gauteng Premier David Makhura said Duarte was in the front line in the battle against crime and passionate about non-racialism.
“She wanted socio-economic justice in our country. She was central in the struggle of transformation of our country to that last moment,” Makhura said.
Cape Times
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