Ladies and Gentlemen;
Yesterday we woke up to the sad news of the passing away of Mme Ruth Mompati, a stalwart of our revolution who was bestowed with the highest honour of Isithwalandwe, Seaparankwe by the ANC for her uninterrupted role in the struggle for liberation. Mme Ruth is one of our leading lights in the ilk of OR Tambo, Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Lilian Ngoyi, Albertinah Sisulu and others. Mme Mompati was a mother to many young girls who swelled the ranks of Umkhonto we Sizwe, she was a trained soldier and was one of our combatants who was trained in Russia, she was a professional teacher, a mentor to many of us and leader of our people. Mme Mopati was also one of the leaders of the 1956 women's march and a renowned leader of the ANC Women's League.
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