First democratic South African parliament speaker dies at age 90

Frene Ginwala, the first female speaker of South Africa’s first democratically elected parliament, passed away on Friday at the age of 90, according to the president’s office.

Two weeks after having a stroke, the constitutional expert and journalist passed suddenly at her home on Thursday evening.

President Cyril Ramaphosa lamented, “Today, we mourn the loss of a stalwart patriot.”

“We have lost another giant from a unique generation of leaders to whom we owe our freedom and to whom we owe our resolve to continue building the South Africa to which they devoted their lives.”

Born to South Africa’s Indian community in Johannesburg, Ginwala studied law in Britain.

The 1960 Sharpeville massacre, in which police killed 69 protestors protesting the “pass” laws, a pillar of white minority authority, altered her life.

After the ANC was banned, she traveled to Mozambique to aid important members of the African National Congress in fleeing abroad.

In the 1970s, she rose to prominence in international media, traveling the globe to garner support for the anti-apartheid movement and call attention to human rights violations.

“Through her sharp journalistic pen, Dr. Ginwala exposed to the international community the crimes of the discredited, oppressive regime in South Africa,” said parliament spokesman Moloto Mothapo.

In 1994, when Nelson Mandela was elected president, signaling the end of decades of white dominance, Ginwala was chosen speaker of the National Assembly. She occupied the position until 2004.

Mothapo stated that she was a “torchbearer” of the post-apartheid parliament and played a vital role in the establishment of South Africa’s democracy.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation conveyed condolences to her family and friends, describing her as “a stalwart of struggle.”

Cyril Ramaphosa seeks re-election as head of the ruling party.

“Madiba held her in the highest regard,” stated Sello Hatang, chief executive officer of the Foundation.

Mandela was commonly recognized by his nickname Madiba.