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 bor
I have always been fascinated by the history of women in mk.i hope you will write more about them.i have writted recently some of them have become military generals but little is known about them