Kate Serokolo was a South African anti-apartheid activist.

Biography

Serokolo was from

Mamelodi Mamelodi is a township northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. A part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, it was set up by the then apartheid government in 1953. Etymology Elizabeth Komikie Gumede Elizabeth Komikie Gumede (, 28 October 1921 – 1 August 2016) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. Biography Gumede was born in 1921 in Christiana, South Africa. Gumede was an anti-apartheid activist ...

were accused of harbouring terrorists in their family home. She was aged 28 and pregnant with her second child at the time of her trial. She was sentenced to five years' imprisonment under the Terrorism Act. During her incarceration, Serokolo gave birth to her son Kabelo at the Kalafong Hospital in

Atteridgeville Atteridgeville also recently known as “Pheli” is a township located to the west of Pretoria, South Africa. It is located to the east of Saulsville, to the west of West Park; to the north of Laudium and to the south of Lotus Gardens. The ...

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

, surrounded by soldiers who refused to leave the maternity ward. She later refused to follow prison rules, went on hunger strike and disrupted religious gatherings. In 1982, Serokolo, her aunt Gumede and fellow imprisoned anti-apartheid activists Caesarina Kona Makhoere,

Thandi Modise Thandi Ruth Modise (born 25 December 1959) is a South African politician who served as the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans from 2021 to 2024. She was previously the Premier of the North West from 2010 to 2014, Chairperson of the Nati ...

and Elizabeth Nhlapo, made an application to the Minister of Justice,

Kobie Coetsee Hendrik Jacobus Coetsee (19 April 1931 – 29 July 2000), known as Kobie Coetsee, was a South African lawyer, National Party politician and administrator as well as a negotiator during the country's transition to universal democracy. Biograp ...

, hoping to improve their living conditions in prison. This was denied. In 1996, Serokolo was interviewed by the South African Truth Commission. She was featured in a Special Report broadcast on South African television, along with activists Zubeida Jaffer and Shirley Gunn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serokolo, Kate Date of birth missing Date of death missing South African anti-apartheid activists South African women activists Prisoners and detainees of South Africa