13 December 2000
Mrs Kate Mantsho Zuma, a freedom fighter, professional, businesswoman, wife and mother, was born on 2 September 1956 in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg.
Her family later moved from Alexandra to Diepkloof, Soweto in 1959 where she grew up and finished her schooling.
In 1974, her family left South Africa to settle in Maputo, Mozambique, then know as Lourenco Marques.
She continue her studies in Maputo and obtained a Diploma in Languages. Mrs Zuma was a rare linguist who could speak almost all South African languages and international languages such as Portuguese, German, French and kiSwhili. She later undertook extensive studies in air travel in different institutions in Mozambique, South Africa and other countries in Europe and United States.
In May 1976 she joined Mozambican airline Linhas Aereas De Mozambique (LAM) at Maputo Airport and began an extensive career in the air travel industry. Shortly after joining LAM, she met Jacob Zuma who she later married in 1982 in Maputo.
Her career with LAM culminated in her appointment as Deputy Station Manager, based in Harare, Zimbabwe, a position she held until 1993.
During her 18 years at LAM, she made a valuable contribution to the struggle for liberation, risking her life and comfort to carry forward the mission to free her motherland from oppression.
Her strategic position at the airport was crucial for the work that the ANC had to undertake through this important entry point into Mozambique. The fact that she was a linguist, and that she also spoke English in a Portuguese-speaking country, made her an asset to the ANC and other liberation movements in the sub-region.
She risked her life and comfort to carry forward the mission to free her motherland from oppression. Among other activities, she performed the following tasks:
She returned to South Africa in 1993 after the unbanning of the ANC and shortly thereafter went into business. She ten established Greenline and Thukela Travel Agencies in Johannesburg.
She was involved in charity and welfare work and was a patron for the ABBA House for abandoned babies, including those with HIV/AIDS. in Pretoria. She was in the process of becoming a patron for organisations of people with disabilities, particularly the deaf.
Mrs Zuma, like many women, performed the multiple roles perfectly as wife, mother, businesswoman and comrade. She epitomised all the unsung heroines of the struggle, who in the open were regarded as just wives of leading cadres of the movement, while they were deeply involved in the struggle in their own right.
As a wife and mother in exile, she kept the home fires burning and provided for the children almost single-handedly, while her husband dedicated his life to fighting for liberation.
She passed away on the 8th December 2000 in Pretoria, and is survived by her husband and children, Mxolisi Sadie (22), twins Duduzani and Duduzile (18), Phumzile (15) and Nhlakanipho Vusi (8).
She will be sorely missed and remembered by family, friends, comrades and all South Africans whose lives she touched in her lifetime.
Issued by: Office of the Presidency