Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge (1 January 1942, in

King William's Town Qonce, formerly known as King William's Town, is a city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River. The city is about northwest of the Indian Ocean port of East London. Qonce, with a population of around ...

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 ...

– 1 August 1985, in Umlazi, Durban, Natal) was a South African anti-

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

activist; she was trained as a

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

and

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

, and later began practising law.

Life

Mxenge was born in Tamara Village on 1 January 1942 in

to parents Wilmot Goso and Nobantu Ntebe. After completing her primary education at Tamara, she went to Forbes Grant Secondary School where she completed the junior certificate (Grade 10). In 1959, she matriculated at Healdtown, Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Province. She trained as a nurse at Victoria Hospital and earned her qualifications in 1964. After she married Griffiths Mxenge, she and her husband moved to Natal (now

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

). She took midwifery at King Edward Hospital and worked as a community nurse in

Umlazi Umlazi is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban. Organisationally and administratively it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and its South Municipal Planning Region. It is the fourth largest ...

. In 1965, her husband was convicted under the

Suppression of Communism Act The Suppression of Communism Act, 1950 (Act No. 44 of 1950), renamed the Internal Security Act in 1976, was legislation of the national government in apartheid South Africa which formally banned the Communist Party of South Africa and proscribed ...

and was imprisoned for two years on

Robben Island Robben Island ( af, Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrik ...

. During their marriage, her husband faced various government-sanctioned bans and detentions. She and her husband had two sons, Mbasa and Viwe, and daughter Namhla.

Work

After completing a midwifery course at King Edward Hospital, Victoria Mxenge worked as a community nurse at

Clinic. She then studied law through

UNISA The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

. In 1981, some five years after her husband had set up a legal practice she acquired legal qualifications, joined the practice and was subsequently admitted as an attorney. On 19 November 1981, her husband was brutally assassinated by

Vlakplaas Vlakplaas (trans. "shallow farm") is a farm 20 km west of Pretoria that served as the headquarters of counterinsurgency unit C1 (later called C10) of the Security Branch of the apartheid-era South African Police. Though officially called S ...

agents led by

Dirk Coetzee Dirk Coetzee (15 April 1945 – 7 March 2013) was co-founder and commander of the covert South African Security Police unit based at Vlakplaas. He and his colleagues were involved in a number of extra judicial killings including that of Griffith ...

township, south of

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. He had multiple stab wounds and his body was found near the soccer field in Umlazi and it fell on her to identify his mutilated body at a government mortuary the morning after his murder. It was claimed by police general Dirk Coetzee that her husband was murdered by 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 ...

(ANC), which she vigorously refuted. The ANC issued a public statement from Lusaka decrying his murder and paying tribute to his contribution in the struggle. In 1996, Dirk Coetzee confessed that he led a group that killed Mxenge. After her husband's murder, Mxenge kept their law practice going. In 1983, she successfully defended students against the confiscation of their results by the Department of Education". She also intervened in cases in which the youth were ill-treated while imprisoned. Mxenge represented families of victims of the Matolo raid and Lesotho raid. Mxenge started a bursary fund in memory of her husband. She became a member of the Release

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

Committee (RMC), sat on the executive of the National Organisation of Women (NOW) and the Natal Treasurer of the UDF. Mxenge was part of the defence team for the UDF and

Natal Indian Congress The Natal Indian Congress (NIC) was an organisation that aimed to fight discrimination against Indians in South Africa. The Natal Indian Congress was proposed by Mahatma Gandhi on 22 May 1894. established on 22 August 1894. Gandhi was the H ...

during the

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

Treason Trial at the

Supreme Court . In July 1985, she spoke at the funeral of

The Cradock Four image:Funeral of the Cradock Four.jpg, upright=1.35, Funeral of the Cradock Four. Photo taken by Gille de Vlieg The Cradock Four were a group of four anti-apartheid activists who were abducted and murdered by South African security police in June ...

Matthew Goniwe Matthew Goniwe (27 December 1947 – 27 June 1985) was a South African apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and one of The Cradock Four murdered by the South African police in 1985. Early years Goniwe was the youngest of eight children. His paren ...

Fort Calata Fort Calata (5 November 1956 – 27 June 1985) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and one of The Cradock Four murdered by the South African police in 1985. Early life Fort Calata was born on 5 November 1956. He is the grandson of Jame ...

Sparrow Mkhonto Sparrow Mkonto (24 December 1951 – 27 June 1985) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, and one of The Cradock Four murdered by the South African police in 1985. Early life and education Sparrow Mkonto was born on 24 December 1951 in Bhon ...

and

Sicelo Mhlauli Sicelo Mhlauli (25 May 1949 – 27 June 1985) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, and one of The Cradock Four murdered by the South African police in 1985. Early life Sicelo Mhlauli was born on 25 May 1949 at Emagqomeni Location in Crado ...

. The funeral was attended by over 50,000 mourners. During her speech Mxenge condemned the apartheid government and referred to the murder of

as a "dastardly act of cowardices."

Death

On 1 August 1985, she was "gunned down by four black men" as she returned from a political meeting. She was killed on her driveway in Umlazi in front of her children. The men were thought to be part of a government 'death squad'. After her death, more than 1,000 students marched in Durban in protest and were "dispersed by police using dogs and clubs." Her funeral which was held on 11 August 1985 in Rayi Village near King William's Town was attended by 10,000 people, and letters of condolence were received from

and

Oliver Tambo Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo (27 October 191724 April 1993) was a South African anti-apartheid politician and revolutionary who served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1967 to 1991. Biography Higher education Oliv ...

amongst others. After her funeral, mourners in

Duncan Village Duncan Village is a township in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The township is located about five kilometres away from the East London city business district (CBD). Duncan Village is di ...

took to the streets and vandalised public property. This resulted in clashes between the police and residents which left nine people dead and 138 injured. In 1987, South African magistrates claimed that she had died from "head injuries and had been murdered by person unknown". The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Report on the assassination of Victoria Mxenge documents that Marvin Sefako (alias Bongi Raymond Malinga) was allegedly recruited by the security branch and that Brigadier Peter Swanepoel was his handler. Malinga confessed that he had killed Mxenge.

Legacy

In October 2005, the South African Ministry of the Environment launched the third and final s named ''Victoria Mxenge'' in her honor. In 2006 both Victoria Mxenge and her husband were posthumously awarded the Order of Luthuli in Silver for excellent contributions to the field of law and sacrifices made in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. The Victoria Mxenge Group of Advocates was officially established on 1 July 2011 and is part of the

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

Society of Advocates. On 20 August 2017, the

government and eThekwini Municipality unveiled statues in honour of Griffiths and Victoria Mxenge in uMlazi, south of Durban.

In popular culture

Victoria Mxenge was mentioned alongside other anti-apartheid activists

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known ...

and

Neil Aggett Neil Aggett (6 October 1953 – 5 February 1982) was a doctor and trade union organiser who was killed, while in detention, by the Security Branch of the Apartheid South African Police Service after being held for 70 days without trial. Life a ...

in the 1987 song

Asimbonanga "Asimbonanga", also known as "Asimbonanga (Mandela)", is an anti-apartheid song by the South African racially integrated band Savuka, from their 1987 album ''Third World Child''. It alluded to Nelson Mandela, imprisoned on Robben Island at th ...

by the South African band

Savuka Savuka, occasionally referred to as Johnny Clegg & Savuka, was a multi-racial South African band formed in 1986 by Johnny Clegg after the disbanding of Juluka. Savuka's music blended traditional Zulu musical influences with Celtic music and ro ...

, composed by

Johnny Clegg Jonathan Paul Clegg, (7 June 195316 July 2019) was a South African musician, singer-songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and anti-apartheid activist, some of whose work was in musicology focused on the music of indigenous South African people ...

and dedicated to

References

Citations

Sources

External links

South African History article

Rhodes University Biography

Rhodes University Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mxenge, Victoria 1942 births 1985 deaths People from Qonce Xhosa people South African nurses South African activists South African women activists Anti-apartheid activists Assassinated South African activists Assassinated South African people People murdered in South Africa South African midwives Extrajudicial killings in South Africa Deaths by firearm in South Africa 20th-century South African lawyers South African women lawyers 20th-century women lawyers Women civil rights activists