Letitia Sibeko (born 1930–N/A) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. She was member of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

, the

ANC Women's League The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress, African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League ...

as well as the

Federation of South African Women The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was a political lobby group formed in 1954. At FEDSAW's inaugural conference, a Women's Charter was adopted. Its founding was spear-headed by Lillian Ngoyi. Introduction The Federation of South Afric ...

. She later joined the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

Early life

Lindiwe Letitia Hina, better known as 'Letitia Sibeko' was born in 1930 in Mqumba near

Middledrift Ixesi (also Middeldrift or Middledrift) is a small town located north-west of East London in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated in Raymond Mhlaba Municipality in Amathole District in an area that was formerly part of the ...

in the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

. Her father, Rufus Hina was the chief of her village. She was one of 5 children. She attended a high school in her local area until the junior certificate level. She met

Archie Sibeko Archibald "Archie" Mncedisi Sibeko (3 March 1928 – 27 March 2018) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, trade unionist and political leader. Early life Born in Kwezana in the Eastern Cape, Archie Sibeko grew up in a traditional Xhosa en ...

at Fort Cox Agricultural College near Middledrift. In January 1953, they married. Both Hina and Sibeko did not believe in the principle of

lobolo Lobolo or lobola in Zulu, Swazi, Xhosa, Silozi, Shona and northern and southern Ndebele (''mahadi'' in Sesotho, ''magadi'' in Setswana, ''lovola'' in Xitsonga), and ''mamalo'' in Tshivenda language, sometimes referred to as " bride wealth" or ...

(brideprice) therefore she left home as Hina's parents were upset. Archie left to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

soon after their marriage in pursuit of money. They planned to buy tools, livestock and start farming. Archie lived in a migrant hostel which did not allow couples. Letitia stayed with relatives in

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

while he established himself. They moved in together in 1955. Archie wrote in his book ''Freedom in Our Lifetime'', 'It must have been daunting for her, a village girl...she had to get used to living in one room which served as a bedroom, living-room and kitchen. She had to learn to cook on a primus stove, to dress as they dressed in town, to shop at the market and all the other new things.' Letitia remained religious and non-political during her time in the Eastern Cape. Her husband,

became a political activist and a trade unionist.

Political activity

Her political activity started when she moved to

where she joined the

, the

as well as the

. She participated in the Women's March in Pretoria against pass laws where she played a significant role. She was involved in the extensive planning of the demonstration, as well as the encouragement of women to sign the petition and participate in the march. She did this alongside 157 Cape Town delegates including Annie Peters, Caroline Motsoaledi,

Fatima Meer Fatima Meer (12 August 1928 – 12 March 2010) was a South African writer, academic, screenwriter, and prominent anti-apartheid activist. Early life Fatima Meer was born in the Grey Streets of Durban, South Africa, into a middle-class family ...

, Fatima Seedat and

Florence Mophosho Florence Mophosho (1921 – 9 August 1985) was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist of the African National Congress (ANC). A stalwart of the ANC Women's League, she was a member of the ANC National Executive Committee from 19 ...

. In 1961 she joined the then 'underground'

. She attended the FEDSAW annual conference which took place in Cape Town where she presented a speech criticing and denouncing the Bantu education system. She was allegedly detained by the police in 1963 in order to get information on her husband,

who was working 'underground' against the government. She acted a courier for him. Due to influx control regulations, Letitia was expelled from the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

as her husband was no longer living there.

claims that the last time he saw his wife was while he was in hiding just before he was smuggled out of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. This meeting was organised by Archie's controller, Liz Abrahams, on a farm in Paarl. She was detained for months after this visit as the police were following her and were suspicious. Little is known of her activity after her expulsion. It is believed that she returned to

under a different name and managed a shabeen there. Her grandparents raised her four children in the

. She also had a number of other children in Cape Town. She dropped out of politics and died after falling ill. The whereabouts of her grave are unknown.

External links

* * * Bernstein, Hilda, 1975. ''For Their Triumphs and for Their Tears - Women in Apartheid South Africa'', International Defence & Aid Fund, London, United Kingdom.
"Women's Anti-Pass Law Campaigns in South Africa"
, About.com *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibeko, Letitia Anti-apartheid activists South African prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of South Africa People acquitted of treason South African trade unionists South African politicians South African women in politics 1930 births Year of death unknown

Early life

Political activity

External links

See also

References