Sister Mary Bernard Ncube (; 9 March 1935 – August 31, 2012) was a South African religious sister and

anti-apartheid activist The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid, apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by ...

. As a religious sister, she often faced criticism from the church over her politics, including her stance on abortion. Because of her anti-apartheid activities, she was often arrested and is probably the first sister to be arrested in South Africa.

Early life and education

Ncube was born on 9 March 1935 on the East Rand of the former

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

. She earned a degree in theology from the Roma College in

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

and entered the Companions Catholic Order in 1955. She worked as a teacher until 1960.

Apartheid-era activism

Ncube lived at the St. Mary's Convent in

Kagiso Kagiso is a township situated in Krugersdorp west of Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The word ''kagiso'' means peace in Tswana. Kagiso's administration comprises five wards, each headed by a councillor. History Kagiso was establis ...

where she was known around the community as ''Mma Rona'' (Our Mother). Ncube helped establish the

Federation of Transvaal Women The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was a political lobby group formed in 1954. At FEDSAW's inaugural conference, a Women's Charter was adopted. Its founding was spear-headed by Lillian Ngoyi. Introduction The Federation of South Afric ...

(FEDTRAW). Previously, she had been very active with youth groups in

. In 1984, she became the president of FEDTRAW. In 1983, she was arrested and sentenced to four months in prison for possessing "banned literature." The item in her possession was a pamphlet published by the African National Congress (ANC), which had been outlawed in South Africa. In 1986, Ncube was arrested for attending a United Democratic Front (UDF) gathering, and was later let out on a $200 bail on the charge of attending an illegal gathering. Not long after, police with dogs raided her convent and took over 70 documents, many relating to the UDF. In March 1986, a

gasoline bomb A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see #Other names, other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a Fuse (explosives), fuse (typically a ...

was tossed into her convent room, fortunately not harming anyone. Later that year, in June, she was detained again and held in solitary confinement for over a year under Section 29 of the Internal Security Act. During much of that time, she did not have access to necessary medical supplies or the type of special diet she needed. Eventually she was released on bail. Ncube was banned from Kagiso in 1987. On March 17, 1988, the government dropped the charges against her. In 1989, she was part of a UDF delegation to meet with President

George Bush George Bush most commonly refers to: * George H. W. Bush (1924–2018), 41st president of the United States and father of the 43rd president * George W. Bush (born 1946), 43rd president of the United States and son of the 41st president Georg ...

. Ncube went a "nation-wide speaking tour" of the United States and sponsored by

Global Exchange Global Exchange was founded in 1988 and is an advocacy group, human rights organization, and a 501(c)(3) organization, based in San Francisco, California, United States. The group defines its mission as, "to promote human rights and social, economi ...

in 1990. In 1991, she joined the National Executive Committee of the ANC.

Post-apartheid career

Ncube was elected into Parliament in 1994 and chaired the portfolio committee on arts and culture. She left Parliament in 2002, when she became the mayor of the West Rand Municipality. She died on 31 August 2012.

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Transcript of Ncube's 1983 trial
(starts on p. 17) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ncube, Sister Bernard 1935 births 2012 deaths South African Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Anti-apartheid activists Politicians from Johannesburg South African politicians South African women Members of the National Assembly of South Africa Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa