Nomkhosi “Mary” Mini Murdered Still Young

On 21 December 1985, Vlakplaas Commander Eugene de Kock reported to have successfully led a unit of six men on a raid in Maseru. De Kock was tasked with this operation to raid two houses in the heart of the capital of Maseru.

In the middle of the night, under cover of darkness, disguised and camouflaged, the men smuggled their silenced weapons across the Caledon River. The raid was sanctioned by the State Security Council (SSC) and was approved by the apartheid State President PW Botha.

De Kock said his men had instructions not to kill women and children, but a woman by the name of Jackie Quinn opened the door, saw the pistol and grabbed it, and was shot dead. Eight more people were assassinated.

Amongst these people were other two women, which he deliberately did not mention, because one was a trained Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) cadre, and for De Kock she did not deserve to be regarded as a woman. Ultimately, nine bodies were recovered from the early morning attacks, and among those murdered was indeed a woman cadre, Nomkhosi Mini (aka “Mary Thabethe”).

Nomkhosi Mini was born on 16 July 1958, and she was only 27 years old when she was murdered. She was the daughter of Vuyisile Mini, a South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) activist, an Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) combatant, and one among the three African National Congress (ANC) members to be executed by the apartheid state in November 1964, alongside Wilson Khayinga and Zinakile Mkaba.

Nomkhosi Mini was born into a politically active family, and her mother, Wesilo Mini was an active member of the ANC and the South African Communist Party (SACP). She became a member of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in 1978, and became part of the Moncada Detachment. Nomkhosi survived a March 1979 apartheid South African Air Force raid on the MK Novo Catengue camp in Angola.

While she was still in Angola, she became a founder member of Amandla Cultural Ensemble of the ANC, led by a revolutionary artist, a jazz musician, songwriter and producer, Jonas Gwangwa. In the early 1980s, Mary was deployed to the front in Lesotho.

After electing not to give evidence under oath to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), Xolile Mini, the brother of Nomkhosi “Mary” Mini, said “I cannot help it, I felt the pain when I heard that some of the killers didn’t even bother to give full explanation. It is not nice for me to say that one of those people who were killed on that day was my sister, Nomkhosi Mini. She was killed in a gruesome manner that one cannot even imagine because of the laws that were in existence during those times.”

“My sister was one person who was fully committed in fighting for the freedom in this country. She was brought up by the parents so that she could be a full citizen. She was committed and she even paid with her life in what she wanted, because she wanted to fight for this country, fighting for people like me, who wanted their rights to be recognised. I am saying Nomkhosi followed in her father’s footsteps. Among all the people who were responsible for this, they received awards, but unfortunately Mr McCaskill did not get any of those,” said Xolile.

In the evidence provided by Anna Mohatle, from Maseru in Lesotho, whose sister Mankayele Mohatle, was also killed in the raid, she said, “Mr (Elvis) McCaskill knew that if many people would be murdered at his house, he would get a lot of money and that is exactly what he did”.

On 30 August 2014, in her memorial lecture of Nomkhosi “Mary” Mini, in Port Elizabeth, then Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Zou Kota-Fredericks said, “I met Mary in Lesotho. She was a disciplined, strong and dedicated cadre of our movement. She was always in a jovial mood. Her morale was always high. Comrades, we are here today to remind ourselves that freedom was indeed never free.”

“Many sons and daughters of our soil lost their lives for freedom. We owe it to them to tell fellow South Africans particularly the younger generation of how this freedom has come about by reminding them of the journey of heroines like Nomkhosi Mini. We must tell their good story. It is critical for all of us to remember where we come from in order to know where we are going.”

Castro Khwela
Good day fellow Compatriots!