According to ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula, Letsike was one of four members invited into the NEC during this week’s ANC lekgotla for the party to have “more balanced representation.”
Letsike will now provide the party’s top decision-making body a strong LGBT voice.
At least one LGBTIQ+ member has served on the NEC in the past, namely former minister Lynne Brown in 2007 and 2012, but she decided to conceal her sexual orientation.
Letsike’s participation in the NEC as a vociferous and internationally recognized LGBTIQ+ activist is unprecedented.
Letsike told MambaOnline, “It is a privilege that should be understood as a call to make a significant contribution to the democratic governance of the ruling party, adding to the enormous task of renewal and unity.”
She stated that her appointment as the “first openly lesbian black woman to serve on the ANC’s National Executive Committee” exemplifies the party’s “transformational, inclusive, and intersectional path in its leadership structures.”
Letsike is the founder and executive director of Access Chapter 2, co-chair of the South African AIDS Council (SANAC), and co-chair of the Department of Justice’s National Task Force on LGBTIQ+ hate crimes.
Letsike stated that her co-optation is significant not only for the LGBTIQ+ community, but also for women and youth, in an effort to “defend fundamental human rights and advance equality towards a just and equal society for all.”
Last year, the ANC was accused of marginalizing South Africa’s LGBTIQ+ population when, at its 55th Elective Conference in December, it failed to elect a single openly queer person to its NEC.
The ANC-aligned Embrace Diversity Political Movement (EDPM) issued a statement welcoming the news of Letsike’s adoption.
National Spokesperson Mpho Buntse stated, “We are confident that Comrade Steve will champion the voices of all minority and previously marginalized members of our glorious movement and beyond.”
“We are now more confident that laws such as the Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill will finally have a strong activist voice in the highest decision-making body of the ruling party,” Buntse said.
»Steve Letsike: The ANC NEC finally has LGBTIQ+ representation«