Florence Barbara Ribeiro SCOB (born 03 November 1933 – died 1 December 1986) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who, along with her husband Fabian, was assassinated by South African government forces. The post-Apartheid

Truth and Reconciliation Commission A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...

found that when

Johannes Geldenhuys General Johannes Jacobus (Jannie) Geldenhuys, (5 February 1935 – 10 September 2018) was a South African military commander who served as Chief of the South African Defence Force from 1985 to 1990. Early life Geldenhuys was born in Kroonstad ...

and General

Ian Gleeson Lieutenant General Ian Rimbault Gleeson (15 August 19347 June 2021) was a South African Army officer who served as Chief of the Defence Staff. He graduated from the Military Academy after attending Christian Brothers College in Pretoria and j ...

were informed that the

SADF The South African Defence Force (SADF) (Afrikaans: ''Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag'') comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence F ...

and Security Branch had assassinated Dr Fabian Ribeiro and his wife Florence Ribeiro on 1 December 1986 they failed to pass this information onto the Attorney-General or the police. The commission concluded that they both "acted in an obstructive way for which they are legally responsible". As part of the commission's hearings, it was alleged that Geldenhuys had also authorized the use of SADF special forces personnel to support the Security Branch's operations within South Africa; he denied having done so. In May 2012, Queen Wilhelmina Street in Pretoria was renamed Florence Ribeiro Avenue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ribeiro, Florence 1986 deaths Anti-apartheid activists Roman Catholic anti-apartheid activists Assassinated South African activists Recipients of the Order of the Baobab