The Legacy of Gertrude Shope: A Tribute to a Fearless Leader and Patriot

Ambassador Welile Nhlapo

When my mother passed on in 1973 I learnt about the pain of losing a mother and hoped it was my last experience. Today I feel the same pain with the passing of Mme Gertrude Shope, Isithwalandwe.  

She treated me as her child and showed me the love of a mother. She was my leader and mentor at the same time. Her late husband,  Mark Shope, was equally my father and political mentor. He groomed me to be a political instructor in our camp in Angola and recruited me to the underground structures of the SACP. The Shopes were the in-laws of my childhood friend and Comrade, the late Tebogo Mafole. We all shared a strong bond of comradeship and selfless service to our people.  

Many others have experienced the same warmth, parental love, and political mentorship I am writing about. It particularly gives me a deep sigh of relief to be personal about what is going through my mind.

 Last week, her daughter, Lyndall, shared a video of her asking about me in a conversation they had.  That is what a mother would do in her period of final reflection. I deeply understand why it happened and feel very overwhelmed that she thought about me.  

We are rightly a nation in mourning and justifiably feel a sense of deep loss and grief. Her selfless dedication and commitment inspired many of us young and old alike. There is no aspect of our struggle in which she did not leave a mark and a legacy to be emulated. Her life and deeds constitute many lessons of what patriotism and internationalism truly mean.  

Her commitment to global peace and security continued to be celebrated in the Annual Gertrude Shope Lecture on Women in Peace and Security as part of a dedicated continental training programme for  women peace mediators conducted annually at DIRCO. I feel proud and honoured to be part of this noble experience.

She did not only believe in the importance of intergenerational mix but was an embodiment of its true meaning. The ANC Women’s and Youth Sections shared the same floor in Lusaka, Zambia and both of us were Heads of the two sections.

We had the common responsibility of dealing with the challenges facing Youth and Women in the ANC. I learnt a lot from her on how to tackle our common tasks. We consulted on many issues and sought to find a  unified approach towards uniting and giving common purpose to particularly the youth in institutions of higher learning wherever they were provided with scholarships, young women and men in Umkhonto we Sizwe and those deployed in various projects and offices.

That is what the logo and slogan, Fight, Learn, and Produce found expression and adopted also as the current emblem of the ANC Youth League. This task remains firmly on the agenda in dealing with our contemporary issues of leadership, gender parity and confronting all forms of violence against women and children. A lot will still be written and spoken about as tributes continue to flow during this period of mourning.

 Our mother and leader have left us in pain and grief. We find solace that through her exemplary life and teachings, she left us with the best Inheritance we can yearn for and cherish as a nation she leaves behind.  

We bow our heads in her honour as we express our sincere condolences and gratitude to her entire family for the treasured gift of a wonderful soul.  

May she rest in eternal peace till we meet again. The struggle continues!!!

* Welile Nhlapo is South Africa's former Ambassador to Ethiopia, Burundi and the USA. He was also the National Security Adviser to the President of South Africa and is a Struggle Veteran.

** The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.