Anti-apartheid activist, African National Congress veteran Yasmin Jessie Duarte dies at 68

Yasmin “Jessie” Duarte was the longest serving member of the ruling party’s national executive council, after first being elected to the body in 1999 under the leadership of then president Thabo Mbeki.

South Africa's veteran freedom fighter and Deputy Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC), Yasmin “Jessie” Duarte, passed away on Sunday after a long battle with cancer. She was 68.

The ANC confirmed that Duarte passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Duarte had been on medical leave since November last year as she underwent treatment for cancer.

She was the longest serving member of the ruling party’s national executive council (NEC), after first being elected to the body in 1999 under the leadership of then president Thabo Mbeki.

Sharing its condolences, the ANC said Duarte had been “a tower of strength to the organisation as well as a matriarch and pillar of her family. “

“The passing of Comrade Jessie is a great loss, not only to the family but to the democratic movement and the country as a whole,” ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe said in a statement.

“She dedicated her entire life to the struggle for a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic, prosperous, and just South Africa. A committed gender activist, she relentlessly championed the emancipation and empowerment of women. Her life and work reflected a consistent commitment to advancing the rights of the poor and marginalised,” Mabe added.