Nomkhitha Virginia Mashinini

Nomkhitha Virginia Mashinini
Born Nomkhita Virginia Boto
9 May 1935
Bengu village, Eastern Cape
Died 2008
South Africa
Nationality South African
Education Mt Author
Occupation Political Activist
Known for 1976 Student Uprising
Spouse(s) Ramothibi Mashinini
Children Mokhete Mashinini, Tsitsi Mashinini, Lehlogonolo Mashinini, Mpho Mashinini, Lebakeng Mashinini, Moeketsi Mashinini, Tshepiso Mashinini Sydney Mashinini
Parent(s) Olive Nontuthuzelo Boto, Daniel Boto
Relatives Mark Boto

Mashinini, Nomkhitha Virginia (9 May 1935- 25 September 2008) was a South African Apartheid detainee, mother of political figure Tsietsi Mashinini and community worker.

Early life

Nomkhitha Virginia Mashinini was born in the Bengu village in the Eastern Cape, then known as the Transkei homeland. The closest town, Lady Frere, was over 160 kilometers away. Her father, Daniel Boto, was a wealthy widower. Boto was of royal descent, was a Imbongi for the royal court, interpreter, poet and politician. He had 15 children from his first marriage. He then married Olive Nontuthuzelo, from the village of St Marks, who was the same age as his eldest child at their time of marriage.

Nontuthuzelo gave birth to Nomkhitha Virginia Mashinini at their farm home on the 9th May 1935. ‘’Nomkhitha’’ means ‘attractive’ in isiXhosa. Nontuthuzelo had a son, Mark, a few years later which Nomkhitha was very close to. Nomkhitha and Mark were described as ‘inseparable’ and did most things together including homework, playing and home chores. Their mother was often away from home during weekdays as her teaching job, which was in another village near Lady Frere, was too distant for her to travel daily. Thus Boto played a more proactive role in raising the children which was unconventional for an African family at the time.

The family made monthly trips to Lady Frere to go shopping for food and clothing. Because Boto was a praise singer (imbongi) and valued traditional Xhosa customs, he insisted on teaching Nomkitha these customs throughout her life. Many people would later trace Tsietsi Mashinini’s rhetorical and persuasive skills which he used when he led the 1976 June 16 Soweto uprising, to his grandfather.

Although Nomkhitha had a traditional Xhosa background, she also had a Christian background as her mother was a devout Christian and attend church every Sunday while living in the Bhengu village.[1]

Education

When she turned 13 years old, she started attending an all-black, all girls boarding school in Mt Author near Lady Frere.[2] While in boarding school, she only returned for home during the June and December holidays due to distance. However, the family did visit her during their monthly visits to Lady Frere. She studied biology, geography, history, english and arithmetic. She also played tennis and was a very sociable child.

During this time, there were only two professions open to black women, these were teaching and nursing. Nomkhitha decided to study nursing and wanted to return to Bhengu to practice her profession there for the rest of her life.

After completing her high school education at the age of 17, she moved to Kliptown near Soweto with the intention to enroll at the nurses college in Baragwanath Hospital (now Chris Hani Hospital). While in Kliptown, she lived with her aunt, Letitia, and her cousin in home a preacher rented to them. Unfortunately, Letitia told Nomkhitha that her applications to various nursing schools were all rejected. Years later, she learnt that some of the nursing schools had accepted Nomkhitha’s applications but Letitia lied as she wanted Nomkhitha to remain at home and help with the home chores.[3]

Marriage

She met Ramothibi Joseph Mashinini in Kliptown whom she married in 1955. Ramothibi was a devout Christian man who came from a poor Sotho family in the Free State (province). Nomkhitha and Ramothibi’s wedding lasted for two days. The first day was a traditional western wedding which occurred in a Presbyterian church in Johannesburg, the second was a traditional wedding where they slaughtered a goat and had traditional.

According to tradition, Nomkhitha had to stop speaking isiXhosa out of respect for her mother-in-law but she did not know how to speak Sotho. A few months after the wedding, she gave birth to her first son, Mokete. Nomkhitha returned to live with Letitia a week prior to the birth of her first born son, and remained there till a month after his birth. This was a traditional customary practice in both Sotho and Xhosa custom.

Ramothibi was a poor Sotho man from the Free State. They were allocated a plot by the municipality by the Central Western Jabavu in 1958, a year after Mokete was born.. She had 13 children (Mokhete, Tsitsi, Lehlogonolo, Mpho, Lebakeng, Moeketsi, Tshepiso and Sydney were the most prominent of the 13) during her marriage with Ramothibi. All of the children were boys except two, which were a set of twin girls. Nomkitha did not plan to have a large family but, like many women of the time, Nomkhitha felt powerless in preventing pregnancy as contraceptives were expensive.[4]

Soweto Uprising

In 1976, her son, Tsietsi Mashinini and daughter Mpho Mashinini led the student uprising against Bantu education in Soweto. Due to their riots, four of her sons (the youngest of which was 15 years old at the time) fled into political exile. One of her sons returned to South Africa and was tried by the courts for having intentions of using military action to sabotage the government.

Due to increased police surveillance, Nomkhitha travelled to Swaziland in efforts to protect the younger remaining children. She also tried to organise education for her children in exile. Upon her return from Swaziland, she was detained by the South African police in Standerton on the 1 July 1977. Two of her younger sons and Mpho Mashinini were detained on the same day. One of the detained sons, Sydney Mashishi, who was 14 at the time, was tortured and beaten by the police due to his siblings involvement in the protests.

While under police custody, she was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of her stay. While in detention, she was frequently interrogated about the whereabouts as well as the political activities of her children. She was held responsible for the ‘chaos’’ that her children started in 1976 and was accused of being an irresponsible mother with poor control over her children. She was released from prison without being charged. She was held for seven months from 1 July 1977 by members of the South African Police.[5]

She was soon fired from her job at Guys and Dolls as the company management was afraid that she would influence other staff members with ideas of terrorism and communism. She struggled to find employment after her detention in 1976 however, a non profit organisation, Meals on Wheels hired her. The project was feeding scheme run by the Methodist Church.[6][7]

Death

She died on the 25 September 2008. Former President Kgalema Motlanthe paid respects to her death during his first State of the Nation Address on the 28th of September 2008.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lynda Schuster. A Burning Hunger: One Family’s Struggle Against Apartheid Ohio University Press, 15 Sep 2014 page 10-30
  2. ↑ https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/nomkhitha-virginia-mashinini Accessed 25 September 2018
  3. ↑ Lynda Schuster. A Burning Hunger: One Family’s Struggle Against Apartheid Ohio University Press, 15 Sep 2014 page 10-30
  4. ↑ Lynda Schuster. A Burning Hunger: One Family’s Struggle Against Apartheid Ohio University Press, 15 Sep 2014 page 10-30
  5. ↑ TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS SUBMISSIONS - QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS DATE: 22.07.1996 NAME: VIRGINIA MASHININI CASE: SOWETO. DAY 1 www.justice.gov.za/trc/hrvtrans%5Csoweto/mashinin.htm Accessed 25 September 2018
  6. ↑ http://sabctrc.saha.org.za/victims/mar-mas.htm?start=300 Accessed 25 September 2018
  7. ↑ Lynda Schuster. A Burning Hunger: One Family’s Struggle Against Apartheid Ohio University Press, 15 Sep 2014 page 10-30
  8. ↑ https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-185715050.html Accessed 25 September 2018
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