By Johnathan Paoli
The African national Congress is mourning the loss of ANC Women’s League deputy president Lungi Mnganga-Gcabashe. She was 64.
Party spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri described Mnganga-Gcabashe as a beacon of calm in turbulent times and a pillar of principled leadership.
She also said Mnganga-Gcabashe was a humble servant of the people and a tireless advocate for peace, women’s emancipation and community dignity.
“She was a voice of reason when the noise was loud, and a steady hand in the rebuilding of our country’s democracy. Her death is not only a loss to the ANC, but to the broader liberation movement and the country as a whole,” Bhengu-Motsiri said.
Born in KwaMashu on 27 October 1960, Mnganga-Gcabashe’s political awakening was shaped by the brutality of apartheid-era violence in KwaZulu-Natal.
She emerged from grassroots activism during the province’s darkest years, organising peace committees and participating in the United Democratic Front and the Natal Organisation of Women.
Family and comrades highlighted her activism as marked by selflessness, courage and an unwavering commitment to community upliftment.
“She did not seek position or power. She was called by her people to serve them and she never stopped,” the spokesperson said.
Bhengu-Motsiri said her ascent in the ANC Women’s League was built on one home, one woman and one community at a time, and whether in the streets of KwaMashu or the halls of Parliament, she remained grounded in the struggle’s founding values of humility, discipline and service.
Mnganga-Gcabashe held several influential leadership roles, including chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises, where she led Parliament’s oversight inquiry into state capture at Eskom during the fifth administration.
Most recently, she chaired the Portfolio Committee on Tourism.
Just days before her passing, she participated in Africa’s Travel Indaba in Durban.
Her colleagues in the ANC Parliamentary Caucus expressed shock and sadness at her passing.
Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli hailed her as “one of the ANC’s most committed and selfless cadres”, whose contributions to the caucus and the broader movement were immeasurable.
In 2023, Mnganga-Gcabashe was elected ANCWL deputy president, a role that symbolised the respect she commanded across generations.
Ntuli thanked her as a mentor, mother and comrade to many, never seeking celebrity, but always embodying the spirit of servant leadership.
“She reminded us that clinics, schools and libraries were not to be destroyed in anger, but protected as instruments of freedom. She believed in the generational duty to preserve what the struggle had built,” Ntuli said.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile also expressed his sorrow at the passing of Mnganga-Gcabashe, praising her principled and disciplined leadership throughout her parliamentary service.
“I extend my heartfelt condolences to her family, friends and comrades. May her soul rest in peace, and may her legacy live on in our collective memory,” he said.
Mashatile highlighted her unwavering commitment to building a non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous South Africa.
As the party lowers its banners in mourning, it called on the nation to honour Mnganga-Gcabashe’s legacy by recommitting to her values of people-centred leadership and dignity for all.
The party thanked her family for sharing her with the nation, stressing to the women of South Africa that her life was a bright example of dignity and power living side by side.