The one thing generally known about nature is that it is unpredictable, that it has its own cycle. Farmers would even go to an extent of saying that it is at times brutal, that it does not negotiate its cycle. Nature can destroy in a wink of an eye what has been arranged over time.
This could be said is what happened to Parliament with the sudden passing away of the Honourable Khellinah Nomvula Shoba. The Honourable Shoba had just been sworn in three days when death struck its cruellest blow. She has thus become the first person who has had the least days in Parliament since its inception in 1994. The other persons who had the misfortune of having spent the shortest times in Parliament are the Honourable Feroza Adams (three months) and Honourable Thomas Nkobi (four months).
Honourable Shoba’s sudden departure has personally robbed me of an opportunity to get to know her better and to probably take pride in what she was to contribute to Parliament. But that she passed away after having already taken part in some of its crucial processes leading to the appointment of Parliament’s Presiding Officers and the inauguration of the State President is a great achievement and perhaps should also serve as a consolation for us, as Parliament and to some extent, her family.
Born on 29 September 1956, Shoba joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1990 and remained actively involved within various provincial structures of the organisation until her untimely death. She was committed cadre of the organisation, a gender activist and a servant of the working class. She served in various positions within the tripartite alliance, amongst others, as the Secretary and Deputy Chairperson of the ANC, Provincial Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Union in Mpumalanga, Regional Treasurer for the National Union of Mineworkers and member of the South African Communist Party.
Honourable Shoba was known by her comrades as uncompromising in her advancement of women's issues, which she pursued with passion and courage within the ANC and the structures of the tripartite alliance. A long standing member of the African National Congress Women League (ANCWL), she served the organisation as a branch secretary in Mpumalanga since 2004 and was later elected the organisation's Deputy Chairperson of the ward 24 branch.
The attainment of gender parity and other gains achieved by women since the dawn of democracy, as reflected in the deployment of women in Parliament and other structures of government, with the exception of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature of course, were largely brought about through courageous and unwavering struggles waged by women of the calibre of comrade Shoba.
I have no doubt that she will be sadly missed by colleagues in Parliament, the party for which she was representing and the constituency she served in Mpumalanga with commitment, diligence and loyalty of revolutionary who knew the importance of being rooted within the masses whom she would never betray. Let us please take solace in the knowledge that her name will remain etched in the records of Parliament as one of its stars regrettably dimmed before it could shine brightly with great promise for the nation. And I am confident that all of us remaining behind in Parliament will carry on her torch.
As Parliament bows its head in honour of this gallant daughter of our nation, we extend our condolences go to her husband, her six children and five grandchildren, relatives and close friends. We wish them strength at this time of sorrow and bereavement.
May I take this opportunity to invite all of you to write your condolences messages in the condolence book at the foyer of the National Assembly. It was officially opened by us as presiding officers yesterday. The book will be sent to the family once all your messages have been compiled.
Source: Parliament of South Africa
