The Order of Luthuli in Silver

Ms Zodwa Mofokeng (Posthumous) Awarded for:

Her relentless fight against government’s oppression in South Africa. She defied oppressive rule and advanced the cause of liberation and justice for all South Africans.

Ms Zodwa Mofokeng was dedicated to politics all her life. She was dedicated to serving in the African National Congress (ANC) and the community at large. In the early 80s she led the community of Endulweni Section in Tembisa to fight for the tarring of roads.

She led a march against the bucket system where the women took toilet buckets to the Mayor to show him they wanted the sewerage system.

She led the community of Tafeni Section in Tembisa to acquire houses by converting a local hostel. She and other comrades managed to accomplish this and turned the hostel into a residential area.

She later led a march to the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court to stop the police from killing people whenever there was the burial of a comrade and police subsequently stopped the killings. Mofokeng was in and out of prison and consequently never raised her children as she wished.
 
She survived two assassination attempts orchestrated by the security branch. She was involved in the rent boycott campaign. As an active member of the ANC and ANC Women’s League in Gauteng, she also held several positions in the movement.

She was also one of the founding members of the Tembisa Residents’ Association and street communities. Mofokeng testified in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission about police brutality against her and her husband. She was so traumatised that day that she collapsed and was taken to hospital. Two weeks later, on 12 December 1996, she passed on.