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==Work==
==Work==


After completing a midwifery course at King Edward Hospital, Victoria Mxenge worked as a community nurse at [[Umlazi]] Clinic. She then studied law through [[University of South Africa|UNISA]]. 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.<ref name="VictoriaMxenge3">{{cite book | title= Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge| url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/victoria-nonyamezelo-mxenge| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> On 19 November 1981, her husband was brutally assassinated by [[Vlakplaas]] agents led by [[Dirk Coetzee]] in [[Umlazi]] township, south of [[Durban]].<ref name=":2" /> 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]] (ANC) which she vigorously refuted.{{Sfn|Moseneke|2009|p=9}} ANC issued a public statement from Lusaka decrying his murder and paying tribute to his contribution in the struggle.<ref name="VictoriaMxenge1">{{cite book | title= Establishing social consensus on the shifting boundaries between judicial and executive functions of the state-lessons from the recent past| url=http://lectures.mandela.ac.za/lectures/media/Store/documents/Public%20Lectures/Inaugural-Griffiths-And-Victoria-Mxenge-Memorial-Lecture.pdf| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> In 1996, Dirk Coetzee confessed that he led a group that killed Mxenge.
After completing a midwifery course at King Edward Hospital, Victoria Mxenge worked as a community nurse at [[Umlazi]] Clinic. She then studied law through [[University of South Africa|UNISA]]. 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.<ref name="VictoriaMxenge3">{{cite book | title= Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge| url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/victoria-nonyamezelo-mxenge| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> On 19 November 1981, her husband was brutally assassinated by [[Vlakplaas]] agents led by [[Dirk Coetzee]] in [[Umlazi]] township, south of [[Durban]].<ref name=":2" /> 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]] (ANC), which she vigorously refuted.{{Sfn|Moseneke|2009|p=9}} The ANC issued a public statement from Lusaka decrying his murder and paying tribute to his contribution in the struggle.<ref name="VictoriaMxenge1">{{cite book | title= Establishing social consensus on the shifting boundaries between judicial and executive functions of the state-lessons from the recent past| url=http://lectures.mandela.ac.za/lectures/media/Store/documents/Public%20Lectures/Inaugural-Griffiths-And-Victoria-Mxenge-Memorial-Lecture.pdf| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> 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".<ref name="VictoriaMxenge3">{{cite book | title= Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge| url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/victoria-nonyamezelo-mxenge| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> 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—cases from which most attorneys would have shied away. <ref name="VictoriaMxenge4">{{cite book | title= Victoria Mxenge and the 'act of cowardice'| url=https://mg.co.za/article/1985-08-09-victoria-mxenge-and-the-act-of-cowardice| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> Mxenge started a bursary fund in memory of her husband. She became a member of the Release Nelson Mandela Committee (RMC), sat on the executive of the National Organisation of Women (NOW) and the Natal Treasurer of the UDF.<ref name="VictoriaMxenge3">{{cite book | title= Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge| url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/victoria-nonyamezelo-mxenge| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref>
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".<ref name="VictoriaMxenge3">{{cite book | title= Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge| url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/victoria-nonyamezelo-mxenge| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> 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. <ref name="VictoriaMxenge4">{{cite book | title= Victoria Mxenge and the 'act of cowardice'| url=https://mg.co.za/article/1985-08-09-victoria-mxenge-and-the-act-of-cowardice| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> Mxenge started a bursary fund in memory of her husband. She became a member of the Release Nelson Mandela Committee (RMC), sat on the executive of the National Organisation of Women (NOW) and the Natal Treasurer of the UDF.<ref name="VictoriaMxenge3">{{cite book | title= Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge| url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/victoria-nonyamezelo-mxenge| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref>


Mxenge was part of the defence team for the [[UDF]] and [[Natal Indian Congress]] during the [[Pietermaritzburg]] Treason Trial at the [[Pietermaritzburg]] Supreme Court .<ref name="VictoriaMxenge3">{{cite book | title= Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge| url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/victoria-nonyamezelo-mxenge| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref>> In July 1985, she spoke at the funeral of the Cradock Four, [[Matthew Goniwe]], Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkhonto and Sicelo Mhlauli. The funeral was attended by over 50 000 mourners. During her speech Mxenge condemned the apartheid government and referred to the murder of the Cradock Four as a “dastardly act of cowardices."<ref name="VictoriaMxenge4">{{cite book | title= Victoria Mxenge and the 'act of cowardice'| url=https://mg.co.za/article/1985-08-09-victoria-mxenge-and-the-act-of-cowardice| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref>
Mxenge was part of the defence team for the [[UDF]] and [[Natal Indian Congress]] during the [[Pietermaritzburg]] Treason Trial at the [[Pietermaritzburg]] Supreme Court .<ref name="VictoriaMxenge3">{{cite book | title= Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge| url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/victoria-nonyamezelo-mxenge| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref>> In July 1985, she spoke at the funeral of the Cradock Four, [[Matthew Goniwe]], Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkhonto and Sicelo Mhlauli. The funeral was attended by over 50 000 mourners. During her speech Mxenge condemned the apartheid government and referred to the murder of the Cradock Four as a “dastardly act of cowardices."<ref name="VictoriaMxenge4">{{cite book | title= Victoria Mxenge and the 'act of cowardice'| url=https://mg.co.za/article/1985-08-09-victoria-mxenge-and-the-act-of-cowardice| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref>
Line 45: Line 45:


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 they were "dispersed by police using dogs and clubs."<ref name="VictoriaMxenge1">{{cite book | title= Establishing social consensus on the shifting boundaries between judicial and executive functions of the state-lessons from the recent past| url=http://lectures.mandela.ac.za/lectures/media/Store/documents/Public%20Lectures/Inaugural-Griffiths-And-Victoria-Mxenge-Memorial-Lecture.pdf| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref>
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 they were "dispersed by police using dogs and clubs."<ref name="VictoriaMxenge1">{{cite book | title= Establishing social consensus on the shifting boundaries between judicial and executive functions of the state-lessons from the recent past| url=http://lectures.mandela.ac.za/lectures/media/Store/documents/Public%20Lectures/Inaugural-Griffiths-And-Victoria-Mxenge-Memorial-Lecture.pdf| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref>
Her funeral which was held on 11 August 1985 in Rayi Village near East London was attended by 10,000 people, and letters of condolence were received from [[Nelson Mandela]] and [[Oliver Tambo]] amongst others.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/victoria-nonyamezelo-mxenge|title=Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge|last=|first=|date=17 February 2011|website=South African History Online|publisher=|access-date=8 September 2016}}</ref> After her funeral, mourners in Duncan Village took the streets and vandalised public property. This resulted in clashes between the police and residents which left 9 people dead and 138 injured. <ref>{{cite web|title=Duncan Village|url=http://sabctrc.saha.org.za/glossary/duncan_village.htm|publisher=Truth Commission - Special Report|accessdate=8 August 2013}}</ref>
Her funeral which was held on 11 August 1985 in Rayi Village near East London was attended by 10,000 people, and letters of condolence were received from [[Nelson Mandela]] and [[Oliver Tambo]] amongst others.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/victoria-nonyamezelo-mxenge|title=Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge|last=|first=|date=17 February 2011|website=South African History Online|publisher=|access-date=8 September 2016}}</ref> After her funeral, mourners in Duncan Village 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. <ref>{{cite web|title=Duncan Village|url=http://sabctrc.saha.org.za/glossary/duncan_village.htm|publisher=Truth Commission - Special Report|accessdate=8 August 2013}}</ref>


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.
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==
==Legacy==
In October 2005 the South African Ministry of the Environment launched the third and final {{sclass-|Lillian Ngoyi|patrol vessel}}s named {{ship||Victoria Mxenge|patrol vessel|2}} in her honor.<ref name="VictoriaMxenge1">{{cite book | title= Establishing social consensus on the shifting boundaries between judicial and executive functions of the state-lessons from the recent past| url=http://lectures.mandela.ac.za/lectures/media/Store/documents/Public%20Lectures/Inaugural-Griffiths-And-Victoria-Mxenge-Memorial-Lecture.pdf| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> 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..<ref name="VictoriaMxenge5">{{cite book | title= Griffiths Mxenge: A fallen hero| url=http://www.saha.org.za/news/2011/November/griffiths_mxenge_a_fallen_hero.htm| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> The Victoria Mxenge Group of Advocates was officially established on 1 July 2011 and is part of the Johannesburg Society of Advocates. <ref name="VictoriaMxenge2">{{cite book | title= Victoria Mxenge Group launch:
In October 2005 the South African Ministry of the Environment launched the third and final {{sclass-|Lillian Ngoyi|patrol vessel}}s named {{ship||Victoria Mxenge|patrol vessel|2}} in her honor.<ref name="VictoriaMxenge1">{{cite book | title= Establishing social consensus on the shifting boundaries between judicial and executive functions of the state-lessons from the recent past| url=http://lectures.mandela.ac.za/lectures/media/Store/documents/Public%20Lectures/Inaugural-Griffiths-And-Victoria-Mxenge-Memorial-Lecture.pdf| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> 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.<ref name="VictoriaMxenge5">{{cite book | title= Griffiths Mxenge: A fallen hero| url=http://www.saha.org.za/news/2011/November/griffiths_mxenge_a_fallen_hero.htm| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> The Victoria Mxenge Group of Advocates was officially established on 1 July 2011 and is part of the Johannesburg Society of Advocates. <ref name="VictoriaMxenge2">{{cite book | title= Victoria Mxenge Group launch:
adopting group values| url=http://www.sabar.co.za/law-journals/2012/april/2012-april-vol025-no1-pp31-32.pdf| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> On 20 August 2017,KwaZulu-Natal Government and eThekwini Municipality unveiled statues in honour of Griffiths and Victoria Mxenge in uMlazi, south of Durban. <ref name="VictoriaMxenge6">{{cite book | title= Griffiths and Victoria Mxenge honoured| url=http://www.durban.gov.za/Resource_Centre/new2/Pages/Griffi-ths-and-Victoria-Mxenge-honoured.aspx| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}</ref>
adopting group values| url=http://www.sabar.co.za/law-journals/2012/april/2012-april-vol025-no1-pp31-32.pdf| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}}</ref> On 20 August 2017, the KwaZulu-Natal government and eThekwini Municipality unveiled statues in honour of Griffiths and Victoria Mxenge in uMlazi, south of Durban. <ref name="VictoriaMxenge6">{{cite book | title= Griffiths and Victoria Mxenge honoured| url=http://www.durban.gov.za/Resource_Centre/new2/Pages/Griffi-ths-and-Victoria-Mxenge-honoured.aspx| accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}</ref>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 14:08, 19 October 2017

Victoria Mxenge
Born(1942-01-01)1 January 1942
King William's Town, Eastern Cape
Died1 August 1985(1985-08-01) (aged 43)
Umlazi, Durban, Natal
NationalitySouth African
Occupation(s)lawyer, nurse
Known foranti-apartheid activist

Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge, (1 January 1942, King William's Town, Eastern Cape – 1 August 1985 Umlazi, Durban, Natal) was a South African anti-apartheid activist; she was trained as a nurse and midwife, and later began practising law.[1]

Life

Mxenge was born in Tamara Village on 1 January 1942 in King William's Town 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.[2] 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).[3] She took midwifery at King Edward Hospital and worked as a community nurse in Umlazi.[2] In 1965, her husband was convicted under the Suppression of Communism Act and was imprisoned for two years on Robben Island.[4] During their marriage, her husband faced various government-sanctioned bans and detentions.[4] She and her husband had two sons, Mbasa and Viwe, and daughter Namhla.[5]


Work

After completing a midwifery course at King Edward Hospital, Victoria Mxenge worked as a community nurse at Umlazi Clinic. She then studied law through UNISA. 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.[6] On 19 November 1981, her husband was brutally assassinated by Vlakplaas agents led by Dirk Coetzee in Umlazi township, south of Durban.[4] 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 (ANC), which she vigorously refuted.[7] The ANC issued a public statement from Lusaka decrying his murder and paying tribute to his contribution in the struggle.[2] 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".[6] 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. [8] Mxenge started a bursary fund in memory of her husband. She became a member of the Release Nelson Mandela Committee (RMC), sat on the executive of the National Organisation of Women (NOW) and the Natal Treasurer of the UDF.[6]

Mxenge was part of the defence team for the UDF and Natal Indian Congress during the Pietermaritzburg Treason Trial at the Pietermaritzburg Supreme Court .[6]> In July 1985, she spoke at the funeral of the Cradock Four, Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkhonto and Sicelo Mhlauli. The funeral was attended by over 50 000 mourners. During her speech Mxenge condemned the apartheid government and referred to the murder of the Cradock Four as a “dastardly act of cowardices."[8]

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 they were "dispersed by police using dogs and clubs."[2] Her funeral which was held on 11 August 1985 in Rayi Village near East London was attended by 10,000 people, and letters of condolence were received from Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo amongst others.[3] After her funeral, mourners in Duncan Village 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. [9]

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 Template:Sclass-s named Victoria Mxenge in her honor.[2] 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.[10] The Victoria Mxenge Group of Advocates was officially established on 1 July 2011 and is part of the Johannesburg Society of Advocates. [5] On 20 August 2017, the KwaZulu-Natal government and eThekwini Municipality unveiled statues in honour of Griffiths and Victoria Mxenge in uMlazi, south of Durban. [11]

References

Citations

  1. ^ "SA's marine protection vessels". SAinfo. 20 May 2005. Retrieved 4 December 2011. Victoria Mxenge and her husband Griffiths, both lawyers aligned to the ANC, were killed in Umlazi township in Durban, also by the apartheid government, in the 1980s. mirror
  2. ^ a b c d e Establishing social consensus on the shifting boundaries between judicial and executive functions of the state-lessons from the recent past (PDF). Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge". South African History Online. 17 February 2011. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "Griffiths Mlungisi Mxenge". South African History Online. 25 April 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  5. ^ a b Victoria Mxenge Group launch: adopting group values (PDF). Retrieved 19 October 2017. {{cite book}}: line feed character in |title= at position 30 (help)
  6. ^ a b c d Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge (PDF). Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  7. ^ Moseneke 2009, p. 9.
  8. ^ a b Victoria Mxenge and the 'act of cowardice' (PDF). Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Duncan Village". Truth Commission - Special Report. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  10. ^ Griffiths Mxenge: A fallen hero (PDF). Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  11. ^ {{cite book | title= Griffiths and Victoria Mxenge honoured| url=http://www.durban.gov.za/Resource_Centre/new2/Pages/Griffi-ths-and-Victoria-Mxenge-honoured.aspx%7C accessdate=19 October 2017|format=PDF}

Sources

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