Nocwaka Lamani
Nocwaka Lamani | |
|---|---|
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office 3 July 2001 – April 2004 | |
| Member of the National Council of Provinces | |
| Assembly Member for Eastern Cape | |
| In office May 1994 – June 1999 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nocwaka Emsie Vantyi 19 April 1931 Pirie Mission, King William's Town Cape Province, Union of South Africa |
| Died | 17 November 2021 (aged 90) Gqeberha, Eastern Cape Republic of South Africa |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Spouse |
Alfred Zilindile Lamani
(died 1991) |
| Children | 4, including Tango |
Nocwaka Emsie Lamani (née Vantyi; 19 April 1931 – 17 November 2021) was a South African politician and activist. She represented the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Council of Provinces from 1994 to 1999 and in the National Assembly from 2001 to 2004. During apartheid, she was a prominent community activist in Port Elizabeth.
Early life and career[edit]
Lamani was born on 19 April 1931[1] at Pirie Mission outside King William's Town in the former Cape Province.[2] Her father, Isaac Vantyi, was a farmer, and she was the 12th of 13 siblings.[3] In 1953, she left the Cape to enrol for training as a nurse at McCord Hospital in Durban. After completing her studies in 1960, she moved to Port Elizabeth, where she lived with her sister in New Brighton and worked as a nursing sister at New Brighton Clinic.[3] She helped her husband manage his funeral parlour and ultimately retired from nursing to help him manage a petrol station he bought in Zwide township.[3]
By that time, Lamani was active in anti-apartheid community organising in the area. Among other organisations, in the 1980s she was a member of the Port Elizabeth Women's Organisation (the women's wing of the Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation) and of the United Democratic Front.[3][2] She became a member of the executive committee of the ANC Women's League in 1990.[2]
Legislative career: 1994–2004[edit]
In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in 1994, she was elected to the Senate (later the National Council of Provinces), representing the Eastern Cape constituency.[4][5] In the next general election in 1999, she stood for election to the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature,[1] but she was not ranked high enough on the party list to secure election.[6] However, on 3 July 2001, she was sworn in to a seat in the National Assembly, filling the casual vacancy that arose from Serake Leeuw's resignation.[7] She retired after the 2004 general election.[3]
Personal life and death[edit]
Lamani was married to Alfred Zilindile "AZ" Lamani, who died in 1991. They had four children, one of whom, Tango Lamani, was a prominent student activist during apartheid.[3][2] She died on 17 November 2021 in hospital in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) after a long illness.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "General Notice: Electoral Commission Notice 1113 of 1999 – Final List of Candidates" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 26 May 1999. p. 242. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Nocwaka Lamani". Red Location Museum. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Struggle stalwart, ex-MP Nocwaka Lamani dies aged 90". Dispatch. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ South Africa: Campaign and Election Report April 26–29, 1994. International Republican Institute. 1994. Retrieved 13 April 2023 – via Yumpu.
- ^ "Who'll cook for the women MPs?". The Mail & Guardian. 19 February 1999. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
- ^ "General Notice: Notice 1319 of 1999 – Electoral Commission: Representatives Elected to the Various Legislatures" (PDF). Government Gazette of South Africa. Vol. 408, no. 20203. Pretoria, South Africa: Government of South Africa. 11 June 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "The National Assembly List of Resinations and Nominations". Parliament of South Africa. 2 June 2002. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- 1931 births
- 2021 deaths
- African National Congress politicians
- 21st-century South African politicians
- 21st-century South African women politicians
- 20th-century South African politicians
- 20th-century South African women politicians
- Members of the National Assembly of South Africa
- Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa
- Members of the Senate of South Africa
- Members of the National Council of Provinces
- Women members of the National Council of Provinces
- Anti-apartheid activists
- Politicians from the Eastern Cape
- People from Qonce