July 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s main party, announced this Sunday the death at the age of 68 of Yasmin “Jessie” Duarte, his former deputy secretary general and personal assistant to Nelson Mandela.
Born in Johannesburg on September 19, 1953, Duarte helped establish structures for the women’s section of the ANC in the 1970s and 1980s before becoming a leading figure in the United Democratic Front against apartheid-era racial segregation. ‘. Mandela appointed her a special assistant to her when she was released from prison in 1990, a position she held until he became president.
Duarte was appointed general secretary of the party in May 2021, when incumbent Ace Magashule was suspended pending trial on corruption charges, only to announce months later his retirement to treat the cancer that ultimately killed him.
The different South African political parties have expressed their condolences and their memory for the struggles undertaken by Duarte in defense of the rights of the Palestinians or for the emancipation of women and their place in politics.
“Jessie Duarte’s sense of justice was keen, and her sympathy for the poor, the vulnerable, the destitute and the marginalized was profound,” said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“She took up her cause and stood firm on her principles, even when her stance drew criticism or personal attacks. She was a defender of the oppressed everywhere,” she added in her message of condolences, picked up by the News24 news portal.
Duarte was buried this Sunday after a funeral following Muslim rites in the Westpark cemetery in Johannesburg.
Add Comment