Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House -
(1) notes the sad passing of Mrs Thenjiwe Virginia Lesabe from Zimbabwe on 11 February 2011, aged 79, and that she was buried at her Fort Rixon farm in Matabeleland South on 19 February 2011;
(2) further notes that Mrs Lesabe was one of the guests that were invited on International Women's Day, held on 5 March 2010 in the Cape Town International Conference Centre and hosted by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly;
(3) remembers that Mrs Lesabe was among the first people to join the Southern Rhodesian African National Congress, SRANC in 1957 and that she showed a keen interest in politics before the formation of the SRANC and expressed her views publicly at local gatherings and in 1960 she was also among the first women to join the National Democratic Party, NDP, and a first member of the Bulawayo African Township Party;
(4) further remembers that after the banning of the NDP and the formation of Zapu Mrs Lesabe continued as the leader of the Zapu Women's League until the party was banned in 1962 and was also active and involved in the massive unrest activities during the 60s;
(5) recalls that after Zapu was banned she played a key role in underground operations, including recruiting youth for guerrilla training outside the country and in the 70s toured the country where she addressed several meetings informing members about Zapu programmes of liberation struggles and what needs to be done;
(6) further recalls that at independence in Zimbabwe, Mrs Lesabe was elected member of parliament for Matabo district in Matabeleland South and after the Unity Accord between Zapu and Zanu in 1980, held several cabinet positions, including that of Deputy Minister of tourism, Minister of education and culture and Minister of national affairs and employment creation and that in the party she became deputy secretary for women's affairs and served in the national staff committee and after the death of Sally Mugabe was appointed secretary for women's affairs in Zanu-PF until 2004, when she remained a member of the party's politburo; and
(7) conveys its heartfelt condolences to her family and the people of Zimbabwe and believes that Mrs Lesabe will be remembered as a distinguished liberation fighter, educationist, mother and farmer.
Agreed to.