The late Ivy Gcina has been praised as an unsung heroine and stalwart of the freedom struggle.
The Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, was speaking at the fun funeral of the liberation struggle stalwart, Ivy Cikizwa Gcina, in her hometown of Gqeberha, in the Eastern Cape, on Friday.
Gcina was granted a Special Official Provincial Funeral Category 2 by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Video: Funeral service for ANC struggle stalwart Ivy Cikizwa Gcina
Mapisa-Nqakula says there are many heavy hearts bidding farewell to somebody who sacrificed her whole life to the struggle.
“She was forever at the forefront as she fought against the hideous apartheid policy of the national party. She was never deterred by the brutality of the security forces of the racist regime. She never wilted, even when more stringent security regulations were enacted by the regime in the dark days of apartheid.”
Gcina, 84, served on many structures during her time fighting the apartheid regime including the Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation (PEBCO).
She was also the first Chairperson of the Port Elizabeth Women’s Organisation (PEWO).
She joined the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) in the 1950’s and served in parliament as an African National Congress Member of Parliament from 1994 until 2004 when she retired.
