Nyameka Goniwe laid to rest in Cradock

The Speaker of the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality, Nyameka Goniwe, has been buried in the small town of Cradock in the Eastern Cape.

Various speakers at her funeral service hailed the struggle stalwart as a dedicated leader in the community of Cradock.

Funeral service of the late Nyameka Goniwe, widow of Matthew Goniwe of the Cradock four underway in Cradock in the Eastern Cape #SABCNews pic.twitter.com/DQa9vqsX2V

— Lwando Nomoyi (@nomoyi_lwando) September 9, 2020

Goniwe who was the widow of struggle stalwart, Matthew Goniwe, died last week at the age of 69.

Delivering the eulogy at the funeral service, Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane said Goniwe’s contribution to the community had been widely acknowledged.

“She has been a leader in her own right, she has been a revolutionary although she married to Comrade Matthew Goniwe, she was a member of the ANC in good standing, she as a comrade over the years that is why the ANC has deployed her over the years for two terms as a Mayor and at the time of her passing she was a Speaker here, so contribution was huge in the district.”

In the video below, ANC Eastern Cape spokesperson Gift Nqondi pays tribute to Goniwe:

Goniwe’s husband was part of the Cradock Four, the activists who were murdered by the security police in 1985. The other three were Fort Calata, Sicelo Mhlauli and Sparro Mkhonto.

Nyameka testified at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1996, and worked tirelessly to bring about the prosecution of the people behind the murder of her husband.