The ANC on Sunday morning announced that its deputy secretary general, Jessie Duarte, has died.
The party said Duarte who has been suffering from cancer died in the early hours of Sunday morning and will be buried later in the day in Johannesburg according to Muslim rites.
Duarte was first admitted to hospital in November last year while her duties and functions were performed by the party’s treasurer general, Paul Mashatile.
The 68 year old Duarte was a member of the ANC highest decision making body between conferences, the National Executive Committee since 1997 and was first elected as the ruling party’s deputy secretary general at the Mangaung conference in 2012, with Gwede Mantashe as the secretary general.
She retained the position at the hotly contested Nasrec conference in 2017, with Ace Magashule as the secretary general. Magashule has since been suspended by the party after being charged for corruption. His suspension saw Duarte step into the role until she fell sick.
“The passing of Comrade Jessie is a great loss, not only to the family but to the democratic movement and the country as a whole. As a committed internationalist and former diplomat, not only will she be mourned by South Africa, but by colleagues and comrades on the African continent and in the international progressive movement,” ANC Spokesperson, Pule Mabe, said in a statement.
