For Immediate Release
17 August 2018
ANC STATEMENT ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE ASSASSINATION OF CDE RUTH FIRST
The African National Congress joins the people of South Africa in commemoration of our struggle stalwart and activist, Cde Ruth First, who on this day, 17 August 1982, was assassinated by the illegitimate and racist Apartheid government. A journalist, scholar and an Anti-Apartheid activist, Cde Ruth First was killed with a parcel bomb while in forced exile in Mozambique.
She was a founding member of the Communist Party of South Africa that later became known as the South African Communist Party. She was also a founding member of the South African Congress of Democrats in 1953. A member of the drafting committee of the Freedom Charter, Cde Ruth First was unable to attend the Congress of the People in Kliptown due to her banning order. She was arrested and charged in the Treason Trial of 1956, together with her husband Cde Joe Slovo, culminating in their acquittal in March 1956.
As a journalist, she assisted in the first broadcast of Radio Freedom, a communication platform for the ANC that transcended borders during the time where the organisation was banned by the apartheid regime.
The African National Congress will forever be appreciative and grateful for her immense contribution to the liberation struggle of this country. We will continue to learn from the discipline she exhibited during those difficult years.
ISSUED BY THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
Enquiries:
Zizi Kodwa
Head of the Presidency
