Her youth in the Western Cape inspired her to join the Struggle.

“Growing up in Cape Town in the early 1980s exposed me to many things. At first, I didn’t understand what was really happening as I was still young – but with the release of President Nelson Mandela in 1990 and the unbanning of the ANC – people were free to talk about apartheid and the unjust system. That opened my eyes.”

“For the first time, I understood why – week in week out, we would see someone being necklaced, the boycotts that led to people being beaten up when not towing the line; and that every time travelling from Cape Town to the land of our ancestors in the former Transkei – we had to have our parents pass with our names, lest we would be turned back, unable to cross the border”.

She learnt about principles and to stand firm – despite the circumstances

“I have learnt that in life – tough times never last, but tough women do. In activism, it is true that there are no permanent friends – nor permanent enemies. Be your own woman, and stand firm for what you believe in. It is better to be hated for being principled and speaking truth to power – than to be loved for lies and deception”.

Comrade Nozuko’s generational mission was for afford- able health care and better education

“Having been born after the famous June 16, 1976, ours was to continue with the Struggle. With the existence of homelands like Transkei and Ciskei, we wanted freedom of movement and to be able to move inter-homelands, without any hindrances. Our fathers were in the Cape and our mothers in Transkei and we wanted to visit and spend time with both. We wanted freedom of speech, the unbanning of our liberation movement, and access to quality and affordable health services and better education”.

The key roles she played within the MDM include:

• As a young person, she was a member and participant of the Steve Biko Foundation annual youth conferences.
• She was the NEHAWU UJ Branch Deputy Secretary. “During our tenure, insourcing of security, cleaning and gardening services was realised, which saw more than 1 000 people securing formal employment above the minimum living wage. We successfully implemented a salary increase at a sliding scale, with double digits percentage for the lowest-earning employees for 4 years consecutively.”
• She is the ANC Liliesleaf Farm Branch Secretary. “Membership increased from below 120 to more than 200. For the first time, the Ward won National and Provincial Government Elections 2019 with large margins, and almost reclaimed the Ward from DA in the 2019 By-elections”.
• Involvement in community outreach programmes and recently donated more than 2 000 sanitary towels to Midrand Primary School. The programme is ongoing.

Young South Africans should avoid gangs and drugs and aim for careers “Young people are hooked on drugs and become parents at a very young age because they think it is cool to wear saggy pants, take drugs and belong to a certain gang. My wish for young South Africans to take pride in who they are and to make the most out of it. They should properly define their career goals and pursue them. This will give them opportunities to participate meaningfully in our socio-economic issues”.

“It is impossible, if not fatal, to divorce the struggle of our people in South Africa from the struggle of the peoples of the world.”

 OR Tambo, Morogoro Conference